


Welcome to Firehouse 51

by ariesqueen2013



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:21:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29209536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariesqueen2013/pseuds/ariesqueen2013
Summary: It's Sylvie's first shift with firehouse 51.
Relationships: Matthew Casey/Gabriela Dawson, Stella Kidd/Kelly Severide, Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 43
Kudos: 97





	1. Welcome to Firehouse 51

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my very first Fan Fic writing! I am currently working on Chapter 2. Here is Chapter 1! Let me know what you think! I am working on something to bring in Brettsey! This is just the beginning, so bare with me and we will get to Brettsey!
> 
> Leave a comment below! I will try to respond as quickly as I can! 
> 
> So grab a blanket, a hot/cold beverage, and enjoy the fan fic!

It's an August summer day in Chicago. Where the air smells fresh, the food smells delicious and makes you hungry all the time. Here at Firehouse 51, everyone loves the city of Chicago, the sound, the entertainment, the energy, and the people. 

It's Sylvie's first day as a paramedic at firehouse 51. She walks onto the apparatus floor. She asks two guys who are kneeling on the floor, arguing over some Star Wars action figure, while fixing a chainsaw from the truck.

"Hi my name is Sylvie Brett. I'm the new paramedic on Ambo 61." 

Both guys stand up at the same time with a little shove to see who would shake her hand first. 

"Hello my name is Joe Cruz. Everyone calls me Cruz. I am a firefighter on Squad 3." 

"And I'm Brian Zvonececk, but everyone calls me Otis. I am a firefighter on Truck 81."

"Well it's nice to meet you both! If you don't mind could you point me in the right direction of where Gabby Dawson might be?" Sylvie says

Cruz points to the double doors that walk into the common room "If you walk right through those double doors, she will be in the common room."

"Thank you so much Cruz." Sylvie says with a very generous tone of voice. 

Sylvie walks passed a group of guys sitting at a table, talking about adult coloring books. She couldn't help but giggle as she walked through the door. She stands at the double doors and notices Gabby standing by the coffee station. Sylvie walks up to Gabby and introduces herself to Gabby. 

"You must be Gabby Dawson! My name is Sylvie Brett. I'm your new partner on 61."

Gabby was distracted from dealing with the loss of her best friend, Leslie Shay, who was her partner on Ambo 61. Shay was killed in the line of duty 6 weeks ago. 

Gabby responds, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you were coming. I have been partnered up with Chout. I thought he was going to be the permanent paramedic on 61 with me?”

“I just go where I am told.” Sylvie says innocently

“Yeah, well welcome to 51.” Gabby says with less enthusiasm.

* * *

Sylvie makes herself at home at 51. She gets her locker, puts her things inside, and the bells go off for Truck 81, Squad 3, and Ambo 61. There is a house fire, man trapped. They pull up to the scene, 2 kids are standing outside, covered in ash. The little girl ran up to Matt Casey, who is the Lieutenant of Truck 81.

“My daddy is inside he went back for my little sister. Her room is the first room on the left after going up the stairs!” as the little girl panics for the safety of her dad and sister. 

“Why don’t you and your brother head on over to the paramedics and get checked out.”

The Lieutenant takes the kids over to the paramedics and his eyes land on the new paramedic. He notes to himself to introduce himself to her after this call. Since he never got the chance to meet her. He was dealing with Gabby’s emotions over losing Shay and the amount of paperwork that was stacked on his desk, that he never got to fill out and file. 

The call ended in a save of a family. Truck 81 and Squad 3 headed back to 51. When they got back Ambo was just pulling in. Matt walked over to the paramedics.

“How was the family from that house fire?”

Sylvie responds, “Dad took in a lot of smoke. The little sister is fine other than a big ol’e scare.”

“I'm sorry, I don’t think we got the chance to meet. My name is Matt Casey. I am the Lieutenant on Truck 81. Welcome to Firehouse 51!” with his hand out to greet her. 

“Sylvie Brett.” with her hand out shaking his hand. 

Gabby walked away as Matt and Slyvie were doing their introductions. Matt with a concerned look on his face as Gabby ignored them after the call. 

“I’m gonna go check on her to see if she is alright.” Matt politely dismissing himself from Sylvie.

Sylvie nods in agreement. She walks off to introduce herself to the rest of firehouse 51. She’s met Herrman, Cap, Tony, Mills, Boden, and Mouch. She knows there is another Lieutenant that she had met, but she hadn’t seen him. She notes to herself to meet him when he comes in the next shift.

* * *

Matt meets up with Gabby in the bunk room. He talks to her about what is bothering her.

"Gabby, what is bothering you?" Matt asks with a worried look on his face.

"Matt, I know you mean well and want to help, but I need to do this myself. I hope you understand?" Gabby insists.

Matt's brow raises trying to accept Gabby needing space. But he can't help it to not be there for her like she was there for him when his best friend Darrin was killed.

"Okay I understand that you want space and to handle Shay's death in your own way, but if you aren't going to talk to me then you need to talk to someone, Gabby! Whether it is myself, Severide, Chaplain Orlvolsky, Chief Boden, or anybody else in the firehouse. You need someone to lean on, to help you through this." Matt says as he puts his hands on Gabby’s shoulders.

He hopes that she listened to him about her talking to someone.

"I will. Thank you babe!" 

"Of course." 

Dawson walks away from Casey, to check on 61 supplies with Brett. Dawson reaches 61 to find Brett already having ambo stocked for the next shift or the next call they have.

Dawson arrives at the ambo. “Hey, I figured to come help you with supplies, but I see that you are just about done.” 

Sylvie stops and waves with a smile on her face, “Oh I just finished up with everything. Thank you anyways!” 

“You’re welcome.” 

“If I am overstepping, just let me know. But I am not trying to take over Shay’s spotlight or anything. I have heard alot about the two of you from Firehouse 87. I wish I could’ve met her–”

“Thanks, Bre–”

“I’m not finished! I get losing a partner and a best friend is difficult. It is hard to overcome, but I am always here if you need me, day or night! I am always a phone call away. I have been through my fair share of people who are always leaving me. So if you want to talk I am here!” 

Dawson with a shocked look on her face along with charisma, she feels this partnership will be great! 

Dawson putting her hands up surrendering to Brett, “Alright, girl I get you! You got a little spunk in you and I like it! Keep that fire burning inside of you!”

Brett laughs at Dawson's compliment. When Brett laughs it is like a ray of sunshine. It’s contagious. “Well, thanks Dawson I appreciate that, I will take that as a compliment. Well I should probably go get my things shits about to end.”

“Yeah! You’re right. I better go check on Casey to see if he is ready to go home.”

“Sounds good! See you next shift!”

It is the end of Sylvie’s first shift at Firehouse 51. She felt more at home. Everyone was very generous, welcoming, and she felt like they were family. Maybe that Lieutenant from Squad will show up so she can officially say that she has met everyone Firehouse 51. She is happy to be where is at! She can't wait to explore more of Chicago!


	2. The Lives We Saved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Casey feels tension in his relationship. Severide comes back to 51. Mills passes out. Sylvie is being good friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone! first chapter was a great start! Here is Chapter two! I hope you all enjoy it! I have chapter 3 almost complete. Just working out a scene with a friend. I will post it in a couple of days. 
> 
> So with no further or due. Grab that favorite beverage, a blanket, and a seat.
> 
> Happy readings! :)

….. _Shay: Looks like his neck might be broken, hand me a c-coller._

_Dawson: How is his airway?_

_Shay: Respirations are shallow._

_Dawson: Okay? So, what do you think? Should we intubate? Shay come on! You’re gonna have to do this without me starting the next shift!_

_Shay: No, not yet! We start on rescue breaths._

_Dawson: Good, switch with me and be my guest!_

_Shay: You know I’ll never get used to this….._

_──Then there's an explosion that blows a 2x4 down and hits Shay in the head, which instantly kills her._

Dawson shoots up from a nightmare of Shay’s death, replaying the accident over and over in her mind. It’s 2am and she can’t get back to sleep. She gets up out of bed, quietly so she doesn’t wake up Matt. She remembers that Brett’s phone is always on and she can call at any time, day or night. But she doesn’t. 

Instead she calls Peter Mills. Gabby and Peter had a relationship before her and Matt were together. Matt was always jealous of Peter and Gabby’s relationship because of how well they connected with each other. Even though Matt always said ‘I am always here for you’, Gabby never fully let Matt into her darkest corner of her life. But she always let Peter Mills in that corner. 

Peter answers his phone with a deep voice of just waking up, “Gabby it’s 2am what’s going on?” 

Gabby is trying not to break down into tears but she can’t help herself.

“Can we meet up to talk?” Gabby quivers her words.

“Yeah let’s meet up at Lincoln Park in 30 minutes.” as Peter rubs his eyes and gathers himself to get a movin.

Gabby sounds in relief that he agrees to meet her “Sounds good! I’ll meet you there in 30.” 

Matt woke up hearing Gabby’s voice from the living room. He gets up, throws on some sweat pants and walks out of the bedroom rubbing his eyes. Yawning from being woken up, he notices Gabby putting her jacket on.

“Gabby? Where are you going?” Matt asks as he is half awake-half asleep.

“I’m going to meet someone. You told me that I need to talk to someone about my trauma and how I should be able to deal with Shay’s death. This is me going to talk to someone.” Gabby answers

“At 2:30 in the morning? You have to talk to them now?”

“Yeah, I can’t talk to them on shift, who knows what kind of calls he or I will get”

“Yeah, alright. Tell Peter Mills that I said, ‘Hi’. That is who you are going to see right?” Matt assumes.

Gabby has a shocked expression on her face, she wonders how he knows that she was going to meet Peter Mills. 

Like is he jealous of Peter and I? I get that Mills and I dated before we did, but our relationship is in the past, why does it bother him so much? 

As Matt stood there in front of his bedroom door, waiting for Gabby to answer. She stood there and the only question she has to ask is “ _Why?”_

“Why do you want to know where I am going and who I am going to see? Are you my mother or father?” Gabby said it very defensively. 

Matt has no energy to argue with Gabby at 2:30 in the morning. So all calm and collectively, he says “No Gabby, I am not your mother nor your father. I am your boyfriend and I worry about you. I wish you would talk to your current boyfriend vs your ex boyfriend. I am giving you everything I have to be there for you and you just seem to shut me out completely.”

“We will talk about this later, go back and get some more sleep.”

Matt goes back into his room trying to get more shut eye, but he is too tense to get any sleep. So he sends a text out to Kelly Severide, who is his best friend, more like brothers. Matt hasn’t seen him for weeks.

_“Hey Sev, where are you at? I haven’t seen you on shift lately. You've definitely been missed bro.”_

Minutes go bye and Casey doesn’t get a response. So he sends out another text.

_“Kelly Severide, you better answer your phone or I am coming to find you! We can play hide and seek! Just know I am a good seeker!”_

Nothing. No response from Severide. Now Matt thinks there is something going on. He hasn’t called or texted back. Well this now calls for a trip to search for Severide. But first he needs coffee and a shower.

Matt talks to himself quietly “Yeah, no man can function on no coffee, that is what keeps us men calm! Wait…. Why am I talking to myself?” he shakes his head like he is going crazy.

He gets ready. Heads out the door. Hops into his single cab Chevy pick up truck that says “M.Casey Construction” on the side of it. He has his own construction business as his side job and he is a firefighter full time.

* * *

Casey reaches the cabin where Severide has been hiding out at. He pulls into the driveway to find Severide chopping wood in a black tank, jeans, and boots, along with a fairly nice tan. The black tank top gives off the definition of Kelly’s muscles. The man works out! Let’s be real, the man is hot! 

Severide notices Casey pulling in. He rolls his eyes and exhales. He continues to chop the logs. Casey gets out of the truck with a case of beer in his hand. Severide stops chopping wood as Casey hands him a beer and Casey takes a beer for himself. They make small talk before Casey really goes deep into the reasoning of his appearance.

“Are the fish biting?” Casey asks.

“They’re jumping into the boat? Severide replies with the ax in hands, as he leans on it. 

They stand there in silence for a moment, listening to the sound of nature. A minute goes bye and Casey figures time to rip the bandaid off the wound.

“When are you coming back to 51?” Casey ask very sincere 

Severide shakes his head, trying not to cry, or get emotional over losing his best friend. He tries to find the words but the only words that came out of him were “That house is cursed, Casey. It’s nothing but misery and heartbreak there. There is a guy just up the road who has a boat repair shop, he offered me a part of his business.”

“Sounds like you got it all figured out, huh? It’s quiet up here at the cabin.” response Casey.

“Yeah it is.” Severide answers

“Well thanks for the beer”

“Yeah stop by anytime. I am going to be right here.” Severide reminds him

Casey heads to his truck to get a notebook for Severide to look at. 

“Oh, one more thing.” Casey adds

Severide looking displeased, all he wants is some peace and quiet. Nobody to talk to. Nobody to listen to. He just wants to be alone, in the woods, by myself. 

“Boden writes down all the calls we go on by hand. The date, the call itself and what we did. But you know what he writes on the far left side of the column? It’s the lives we have saved. The ones that made it out alive. The ones we rescued.”

Severide stands there contemplating his decisions, whether he should go back to 51 or should he just quit. He looks at the notebook that Casey left for him to look at. He’s heartbroken. He doesn’t want to move forward from losing Shay. But that is how we survive. We move forward from the ones we lose in life. It hurts like hell! But no matter what, those that are around will help you even on your darkest days. Casey is that person for Severide. He holds out his hand to Severide to pull him from his dark hole and pulls him out. Casey is the light in Severides life.

* * *

Severide shows up to next shift at 51. It’s great to have him back in the house, running drills with Cap, Tony, and Cruz. In the middle of running drills the alarm goes off for Ambulance 61, Truck 81, and Squad 3 for a boat accident. Severide heads to the Squad truck to get in his turn out gear, he gets a glimpse of a blonde woman heading for 61. He gets a flashback of Shay, but it’s not Shay. It’s the new paramedic that he hasn’t met before. He hops into the truck and heads off to the scene. As truck 81 squad 3 and ambo 61 show up on scene there a man pinned down underneath the trailer and a young girl stuck inside of the vehicle on a hill. Severide hooks himself up on ropes and heads down to the young girl stuck inside of the vehicle. The rest of the crew works on getting the man who is trapped underneath the trailer out. Severide waits while he gets the all clear so he can proceed to get the young girl out. The young girl leaps from the vehicle and into Severide's arms. Severide walks back up the hill with the assistance of Cruz pulling the ropes. The save was a success. He was relieved to be back on the job.

They all get back to 51, Severide is sitting at the long table in the common room reading the newspaper. Sylvie walks up to Severide to introduce herself to him.

“Hey Lieutenant, I just want to formally introduce myself, I’m Sylvie Brett. I just want to say that I am truly honored to be a part of Ambo 61.” she says very sincerely

She takes a seat next to Severide with her breakfast. She feels very welcomed. She has now officially met everyone at 51.

“Yeah well, um, welcome aboard.” he says

“Oh also, that was a nice save you did today. The daughter is going to be fine and the father just has some bruising. I figured you would want to know.”

“Well, um, thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it.”

Severide dismisses himself and heads to his quarters. He passes Casey’s quarters hearing Casey and Gabby argue. He notes to himself to ask what is going on later.

In Casey’s quarters Gabby and Casey are arguing over why she won’t open up to him but she can open up to Mills.

“Matt you’re the one who told me that I should talk to someone, anyone. I don’t understand why you are getting so upset?” Gabby says being very defensive of Mills

“I’m upset because you won’t talk to me. We have barely exchanged words since Shay’s death. You never let me in. You make me feel like I am the bad guy, no matter what. I am trying to help, but clearly all I am doing is making things worse for y–”

The alarms go off for Truck 81, Squad 3, and Ambo 61 person trapped.

They show up to the scene. It’s in an empty lot, nobody is around. So everyone splits up to find out who called 911. Mills finds a hole. Where there are two men trapped. Everyone is too big to go down into the hole, except for Mills. Mills straps up and flips upside down to go into the hole to get the two men. The first guy comes out safely, Mills straps up the second guy and he is pulled out safe. As the guys were ready to pull Mills back up out of the hole, Mills had passed out upside down and he was stuck. Casey grabs a hook to unhook Mills from being stuck. They pull him out, take his gas mask off. He came too and started asking questions on what had happened. Nobody knew. Everyone was relieved to know that he was alright. He figured there was a malfunction of the mask. When he knew very well that wasn’t the case. He knew that it was something health related. He noted that he would call the doctors after shift to make an appointment to get checked out.

They get back to 51. Shift is almost over with. Everyone gets their turnout gear into the turnout closet and heads to their lockers to get their things, so they can head home.

Mills makes a phone call to the doctor to get checked out. He has an appointment. This afternoon. So he has some time to kill before his appointment, so finds Gabby in the hall talking to Severide. He approaches her.

“Hey do you want to get breakfast before I meet with the doctor?” he asks with a grin

“Yeah sure. Wait… Doctors appointment? What’s going on Peter Mills?” she asks with a concerned look.

“Yeah I made an appointment. I need to know why I passed out upside down on that call. I am just taking precautions. Just to make sure nothing serious is going on.” he says

“Oh okay. I’m happy that you are looking out for yourself. Oh hey how is everything going on with your family? I’ve been meaning to ask.” 

“Yeah, well we’ll talk about it over breakfast. I’ll meet you at my vehicle in a minute. I’m going to let the Chief know what is going on.” Mills reassures her.

“Oh. Alright!” 

Mills meets up with Gabby after shift to talk. Standing at the doors, Matt watches Gabby get into the vehicle with Mills. He’s upset, disappointed, wondering what he did wrong. Sylvie notices Matt standing there. She walks up to him as a concerned co-worker.

“Is everything alright?” She asks

“Yeah. I suppose.” he says with a concerned look on his face.

Sylvie tries to make light of things. She hates when people are dark and gloomy.

“Trouble in love land?”

He turns to her, with his brow raised in confusion.

“Love land?”

She giggles. “Yeah, Nevermind. Do you want to get breakfast to talk about it, my treat?” she offers. She isn't trying to get into the middle of anything, especially between Casey and Dawson's relationship. That's not her intention. She is just being a supportive friend. He needs a friend right now and she really hasn't met anyone she can consider as a friend. So why not the Lieutenant? Chicago is her new home now. So trying to be friendly and nice to everyone is just who she is. She doesn't care if she gets it in return or not. As long as she lives on this planet, she has and will treat everyone the way they should be treated because that is how she wants to be treated. 

“You know what, sure. I am starving. I can meet you there in 30 mins, I have to go do something real quick.”

“Yeah of course.” She smiles at him and walks away to her car.

Sylvie is going out to breakfast with Matt Casey. Is he going to breakfast with her because Gabby is with Peter Mills? All she knows is that they are going as friends. She knows that Matt needs someone to talk to. Maybe she can help. Maybe more will be exposed during their morning conversation.


	3. Everything happen for a reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Casey and Brett become friends. Casey is tired of arguing with Gabby. Mills has some shocking news. Brett and Dawson have a discussion, that leaves Gabby making a huge decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really glad that you all are enjoying these chapters! I hope you all like this one?! Leave a comment to let me know what you think! This chapter and the next are my favorites sooo far.

Casey meets Sylvie for breakfast. She’s sitting, waiting patiently in a booth, waiting for Casey to show. She has a cup of coffee in her hand. The owners of the restaurant took a train car and turned it into a diner. A counter for individuals to sit at. There are booths, tables, and chairs scattered around the diner for more seating available to families and friends to gather. 

Casey shows up, takes off his jacket, sits down across from Sylvie, and orders himself a cup of coffee. 

“Hey sorry that I’m late, I was unsure of the whereabouts of this place. This is nice! How did you stumble upon this diner?” he questions her as he takes a sip of his coffee.

“Oh you know it was my first day being in Chicago away from home. I got lost. My GPS for some reason brought me here. So I stopped in and fell in love with the place instantly. It’s a small diner that is family-friendly. Reminds me of home.” she smiles as the diner reminds her of her hometown.

“Where is home for you, if you don’t mind me asking?” Casey quirks a brow being curious about Brett’s story.

“Fowlerton. We were raised on the farm that my parents own, my brother and I. My brother and I were adopted by two people who loved each other just as much as they loved us. They couldn’t have kids of their own, so they took up adoption.” Sylvie explains

“That’s awesome. Have you ever thought about knowing who your birth parents are?” Casey asks

“I wonder who they are but I'm not ready to know who they are just yet. I’ll know when the time is right, just not yet.” 

“So what brought you to Chicago, Sylvie?” Matt asks

She takes a sip of her coffee and notices the waitress walking by. “Oh excuse me could we order?” 

“I would like 2 waffles with sprinkles and whipped cream. A side of sausage, please. How about you Matt?” Sylvie offers

“Oh, yes, that's why we came here right… I would like 2 sunny sides up eggs, toast, and bacon. Please.” he hands back the menu to the waitress.

“Of course I will get that right in for you.” the waitress gestures back towards the kitchen.

They sit there in silence for a moment. Looking at each other.

“Anyways, back to my question. What brought you to Chicago?” he repeats his question hoping that he would get an answer.

“Oh.. umm..” she hesitates on answering his question. “Well, I was engaged to my high school sweetheart, Harrison. He broke it off weeks before the wedding day. He left town. So, I decided to do the same. I needed a fresh start. New faces, instead of the ones back home who kept looking at me like I was going to snap at any time.” she explains.

“Oh, I’m sorry you had to go through that Sylvie. You didn’t deserve that at all. He sounds like a douchebag.” he states his own opinion of Harrison. Casey does not like the sound of Harrison at all. He hopes that he never shows up in Chicago, otherwise they would be having some words.

She shrugs her shoulders “Yeah, it’s alright. Everything happens for a reason. I’ve realized that I can do just about anything without someone telling me that I can’t. Because that’s what he would tell me. He just emotionally and mentally abused me. I would get a pit in my stomach that I’ve always hated. I’m thankful that I didn’t say ‘I do’ to him.” she says with her lips quipped to the side and eyes on her coffee, trying not to see Matt’s expression. “So what about you? What’s your story?” as she asks, their breakfast shows up to the table.

They continue to talk as they eat their breakfast.

“Oh, I was born and raised in Chicago. I’ve wanted to become a firefighter ever since I was 17 years old. I’m working my dream job. I also have a construction business that I love doing on the side, on my days off.” he says as he dips his toast in his eggs.

“That’s great…. Did you just dip your toast in your eggs?” Sylvie notices what he just did.

“Um… Yeah! It is so good! It gives the eggs a crunch. Why is that a problem? He asks with his brow raised. He sort of feels a little judged by her.

“Oh. No. There is no problem, I have just never met anybody who does that. I do it all the time when I have eggs and toast. That’s crazy is all!” she says as she continues to eat her waffles. “So that’s it, you’re working your dream job and owning your business? It can’t be all that simple. You must have gone through some hardship to get where you are at now.” 

“Well, I was engaged before being in a relationship with Gabby. Her name was Hallie. She was the love of my life. She was a nurse practitioner at a clinic. We got a call that her clinic was on fire. She was trapped in the cage where they kept all their medications. By the time anyone got to her the fire had spread to that area. We broke the lock on the cage, got in there to save her, but by the time she got to the hospital she was declared dead. She didn’t make it. That was the worst day of my life. I never want to go through something like that ever again.” he says quivers explaining the death of his ex-fiance. 

“Oh, no…. I am so sorry Matt. I had no idea. I didn’t mean to pry open sore wounds.” with an apologetic tone.

“Nah, it’s okay. I don’t mind talking about Hallie. She will always be a part of who I am today.” as Matt takes a sip of his coffee reassuring Sylvie that it is okay.

“So what about you and Gabby? How is it going on that front? Sylvie asks 

“Everything was going great up until Shay’s death. We were happy. Now things have changed. We don’t talk anymore Like we used to. She wants to argue more than talk, but she wants to talk to her ex-boyfriend, Peter Mills, than she does to her current boyfriend. I– just don’t know what is going on with her lately.” Matt says being frustrated with the situation.

“Well as long as you have told her that you will be there for her. That is all you can do. If she doesn’t take it then, that is her choice. This may just be her process of grieving and how she handles difficult tasks in her life.” Sylvie tries to reassure Matt, with her hand out across the table reaching for him in comfort.

“Thanks, Sylvie. I appreciate it.” 

Sylvie looks down at her watch and notices that they have been talking for 2 hours. She lost track of time talking to Casey over breakfast, that she has a Zumba class in an hour.

“Oh, shoot!” she exclaims.

“What? What’s wrong?” he asks curiously. 

“I have a Zumba class that I am attending in an hour,” she says as she panics to hurry up on getting the check so she can get going to her class.

“Zumba class? How did you manage to get into one of those?” he asks as he watches her gather her things.

“Oh, I found it on Yelp. I joined a club to meet people in Chicago,” she says. “I’m so sorry to do this to you!” she apologizes over and over to him for cutting their breakfast short.

“No Sylvie, It’s okay. I gotta get going too. I have to check on some supplies at a job site that I am working on. So it’s fine.” he tells her letting her know that she isn’t the only one who lost track of time. 

“Oh... Okay. Well, we should do this again sometime.” she tells him as they are walking out of the diner to their vehicles. Him being the gentleman that he is walks Sylvie to her vehicle. Just to make sure that she got into it alright.

“Yeah, I would like that!” as he smiles at her.

She sits down in the driver’s seat, starts her vehicle. She rolls her window down, hands him a torn corner from a flyer that she received on her doorstep, with her phone number. “Matt if you need anything I am always a phone call away. The ringer is always on, no matter what.” she smiles at him with confidence.

With gratitude, he takes the torn piece of paper and puts it in his wallet. “Thanks, Sylvie.”

She nods and drives away, heading to her Zumba class. She looks in her rearview mirror watching Matt stand there. She has a feeling, but she doesn’t know what it is. All she knows is that they are friends. He is the first she can officially say she has in Chicago.

When she is gone and out of sight, he gets into his vehicle, looks at his phone to see if he had any missed calls or texts for anyone. Of course, he did, 3 texts and 4 missed calls, one text from Gabby and two texts from Severide. How can the woman he claims he loves only text him once, but his best friend can text him twice? The missed phone calls were from clients who still needed an estimate on repairs. 

* * *

Matt goes to his four client homes to give them the estimate on their repairs that they requested. After he is finished with them he gets home, he walks through the door, hangs up his jacket, puts his keys on the key holder, walks through the living room to get to the kitchen to find Gabby making dinner. He goes to the refrigerator and grabs a beer. He notices something is different. Gabby is smiling. She hasn’t smiled in weeks, maybe even months. He’s confused. He knows he didn’t do anything. So something is going on that he isn’t aware of. He is afraid to even ask. He thinks that if he opens his mouth that she is going to shove a knife down his throat or something. He isn’t in the mood to argue with her. He’s tired of arguing with her. It’s become a regular thing with them. So doing what he does best he ignores it and heads to the living, sits down on the couch to enjoy the Blackhawks game. 

Gabby walks out of the kitchen to the living room where Matt is at. 

“Dinner is almost ready. How was your day?” Gabby asks

Matt takes a sip of his beer, his eyes move from the television to Gabby, and says “It was fine. Clients are satisfied with their orders. Just waiting on the product to show up so I can install it. How about yours?”

She nods and says “ Mine was fine. I texted you earlier, did you not get my message?” 

His eyes widened “Yeah I got it. I just got very busy. I didn’t mean to ignore it. I’m sorry.”

That was a lie, he meant to ignore it. He didn’t want to start an argument over text. He figured to wait till he got home to deal with whatever is going on.

“Oh. That’s okay.” The timer goes off on the stove. Gabby goes over to turn it off. “Dinner is ready,” she says from the kitchen.

He gets up heads into the kitchen, grabs a plate, and dishes out what she made. They both sit down at the kitchen table. 

“So where did you go this morning I was looking for you after shift?” he asks just before he puts food into his mouth.

“Oh, Mills needed someone to drive him to his doctor's appointment, turns out he has vertigo. He must’ve gotten it from the explosion. So he won’t be able to return to duty until the doctor clears him.” she explains. 

“Oh wow! That sucks! How is he taking the news?” he squints his eyes and leans back into his chair.

“I think he's taking it to heart that this is the end of his career. He seemed a little upset because all he wants to do is follow in his father’s footsteps. But his mother and sister are trying to convince him to go with them to North Carolina to open a restaurant, that his grandfather left them. But he doesn’t want to leave Chicago. He has options; he just doesn’t know what he should do.” Gabby tells Matt as she drinks her wine.

“Hmm. Well, whatever he decides 51 will support him no matter what.” 

“Yeah, we will. So now you’re okay with Mills and I confiding in each other? That is a huge change from yesterday.”

“Ummm. Yeah with everything that has been going on between us, the tension, the arguing, I figured to quit making it so difficult and just let you handle it. I will just be here to support you. That’s all I can do, whether you lean on me or not.” he states.

“Well thank you Matt I appreciate this.” 

He continues to eat his meal. Once he is finished, he heads into his room to take a shower to wash the day away. He scrubs himself down with body wash that smells like mahogany, a woodsy scent. He shampoos his hair in a hydrating leathery, wood scent. He hops out of the shower dripping wet, wraps a towel around his waist, heads to his dresser to find boxers to put on. He finishes drying off, brushes his teeth, and goes to bed. As he lays in bed, trying to fall asleep, he thinks back to the conversation that he and Sylvie had. From the way she was describing Harrison, he hopes that he doesn’t run into him in Chicago, let alone at the firehouse. How could anybody treat Sylvie the way he did. She is sweet, caring, passionate, supportive, and funny. What is there not to like about–. He finally falls asleep.

* * *

Shift at 51 starts with a bang. Lieutenant Casey, Lieutenant Severide are in Chief Boden’s office for a brief officers meeting. As they are about to dismiss, Mills comes in and informs them that he can no longer be on active duty, due to his vertigo. They were all stunned by the news.

Chief Boden puts his head down, then lifts it “Mills is there anything that we can do for you until you pass your next physical?”

“No, my family has convinced me to go with them to North Carolina to open a restaurant that my grandfather has given to us.” mills says in confidence.

Severide walks over to him with his hand on Mills’s shoulder “That’s great that you are going with your family. It sucks that you can’t work as a firefighter anymore.”

“I’ll be fine. It wasn’t an easy decision to make. I am thankful that you have given me the chance of an opportunity to work in the CFD, given me the chance to follow in my father’s footsteps. But it is time for me to take my path.” as he looks around the room at each of the officers.

Casey with his hands on his hips “Have you said anything to the rest of the house about your decision?”

Mills puts his head down then lifts it “No, I figure if I could say it to them this evening around dinner time if that is alright with you chief?”

“Of course,” Chief says “We better get there before Mouch or Capp eat all the food.”

They head to the common room to find everyone sitting down eating dinner. “Attention everyone, there is some news that I believe that everyone here should hear. Peter Mills.” Chief gestures for Mills to approach the front.

“I know this will come as a shock for all of you. I got word from the doctor that I have vertigo, which means I can no longer be a firefighter, but I have decided to go with my family to North Carolina. It wasn’t an easy decision to make. But I wanted all of you to know.” he stands there listening to all the chatter going on between everyone.

Herrman announces “Alright, settle down everyone! Peter Mills this is some sad and happy news. We here at 51 are sad to see you leave, but we are happy to see you move on to be with your family. With that said, you are coming to Molly’s after shift for a going-away party! 10% off on all domestic beer. You got it?”

“Alright sounds good to me!” Mills smiles in excitement and shakes Herrman’s hand.

He notices Gabby sitting at the round table shocked in disbelief. It pains him to see her with water in her eyes. He will miss her most of all. Because he loves her even though he has never said it out loud to anyone, he does love her. But he knows he can’t have her because she is with Casey. 

Gabby can’t believe what she is hearing from Mills. How can he make that decision so quickly? He just found out from the doctor about his diagnosis the other day. He should’ve talked to her first before making any rash decisions. She would’ve talked him out of leaving. It’s not fair. This day can’t get any worse than hearing that Peter Mills is leaving Chicago for good.

The bells alarm Ambo 61, Bicycle accident.

Brett and Dawson get up out of their chairs in the common room and ran to the ambo. They arrive on the scene, Brett grabs the jump bag as Dawson walks over to the young adult sitting on the ground next to his bike, holding his arm. Dawson asks the patient “Hey what happened?”

He responds with an attitude “What does it look like?”

Dawson stood above him giving her frame of mind “It looks like you ran your bicycle through a sidewalk sign.”

The young adult rolls his eyes at her. Brett arrives with the jump bag. She sat the jump bag next to them. While Dawson took a look at the patient's arm. The man whimpers as Dawson holds his arm in her hands getting a better view of the injury.

“Yeah, It looks like you have broken it. Brett, I need gauze and a sling.” Dawson commands

Brett was distracted and tried handing her scissors, instead of what Dawson asked.

“Brett!”

“What?

With more demonizers in Dawson’s voice “Gauze and sling.”

“I’m sorry, I thought you said scissors.” Brett apologizes.

“I didn’t!” Dawson responds in a sassy tone.

“Okay.”

Dawson tries rushing Brett “Come on, Brett gauze and a sling, let’s go!”

Brett says with a calm tone “I’m getting them.”

“Then do it! Dawson responds in annoyance.

The patient sitting there watching the friction go on between the two paramedics. Brett gets up, tosses the jump bag closer to Dawson, and walks away back to the rig. Dawson finishes up with the patient. She heads back to the rig and there is silence between them back to the firehouse. They get to the firehouse, Brett heads for her bunk. Dawson intervenes with her in the hall.

“Brett.” Dawson declares.

Brett ignores her and continues to walk away.

“Sylvie! Listen, I’m sorry that I jumped you on that call. I just had a─”

They both stop walking standing in the entrance of the laundry room.

Brett interrupts her in mid-sentence “I have never been spoken to like that before in my life, not on the sidewalk, not at work, certainly not by someone who is supposed to be my partner. That was in front of a victim.”

Dawson responds quickly “No, I know, I’m sorry! I just-- had this--”

Brett interrupts again with a stern tone “I don’t care what you have going on in your life. I have things going on too. I treat you with respect every time the bells go off. If you can’t do the same for me, don’t ride with me on 61.” She walks away leaving Dawson standing there feeling perplexed. 

Casey watches and eavesdrops on the whole thing from the briefing room window. He walks into the locker room to find Sylvie sitting on the bench, head down looking at the floor. She’s sad, disappointed, almost in tears. He stood over her asking “Rough call?”

She nods her head.

He feels sympathy for her “I’m always here, just so you know.”

She picks her head up and looks over to him “I do know that. Thank you, Matt.”

They sit there for a moment. He puts his hand on her shoulder to reassure her, that she will be alright, and that he is there for her.

* * *

Mills stop Gabby in the driveway and reminds her about the going away party for him.

“You’re coming to my going away party at Molly's right?”

Dawson not having any words other than being disappointed in him leaving. “So, you’re leaving huh?”

“Yeah, I am. I can’t keep chasing my father’s shadow forever. I need to follow my own for once.” he says trying to reassure her that this is what he wants to do.

She shakes her head and agrees “Yeah, of course. I get it.”

“So are you coming Gabby to Molly’s tonight? I would love to see you before I leave,” he asks again hoping she would give him an answer. 

“Yeah I will be there,” she responds, tossing her hair back behind her ear.

Mills is about to jump for joy knowing that Gabby is going to his going away party “Cool! I will see you both there!” 

  
  


Everyone is waiting for Peter Mills to show up at Molly’s. They are drinking and hanging out.

Capp yells across the bar “HE'S HERE!!”

Everyone cheers and applauds him. He smiles and lifts his hands to wave them off. He walks through the bar shaking everyone’s hand. 

Cruz says in a deep voice “SPEECH, SPEECH, SPEECH!”

Mills shyly rubbing the back of his neck, holding back tears “Man, I suck at these kinds of things. I just wanted to say thank you. Working side by side with all of you, I have learned a hell of a lot more than just how to do the job. I’ve learned what it means to be a brother and how you do whatever you can to be there for each other. And the crazy thing is, now I am leaving this family for another. But I wanted you all to know that these years have been the best time of my life. Don’t think for one second I don’t know how lucky I have been. I will never forget that.”

Everyone applauded and cheered. The guys moved forward to shake Mills’ hand in appreciation and gratitude. He looks over to find Gabby sitting at the bar, he walks over, she starts to cry. He hugs her and says “Come on, Come on. Don’t do this!” Everyone joins in for a group hug. He chuckles then starts to cry himself.

He decides that it was time to head out. He walks out the door with his gifts. He gets to the middle of the road when Gabby stops him from leaving.

“Hey, Peter Mills!”

He turns around to see Gabby holding another gift for him. She smiles and hands it to him “You forgot another one.”

Casey walks out of Molly’s to find his girlfriend and his former college standing in the middle of the road. He’s surprised and shocked as he watches from the distance. He is thinking to himself “What are they talking about? Oh no, Mills kissing my girlfriend! Why am I standing here and not moving to go break it up?” Now Matt Casey is angry, upset, pissed off. He continues to stand there watching his relationship unravel right in front of him.

Mills leans into her, puts his hand on her shoulder, and gives her a passionate kiss. They pull away from each other. Gabby smiles at him, as he smiles back. He asks very softly “Come with me, to North Carolina!”

“Are you serious Peter Mills?” Gabby questions.

“Of course I am serious! I love you Gabby! I want to be with you. There is no one else that I would rather be with and that I would rather live alone than be without you.”

Gabby stands there listening to Mills. She’s stunned, shocked, the whole nine yards. She loves both Peter Mills and Matt Casey. Choosing between two guys that she loves has to be the most difficult decision she makes. Who is she going to choose? The odds are in our favor.


	4. Life throws you curveballs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabby made her decision. Sylvie introduces her new friend. Sylvie always treats her friends to a night of fun. Severide is smitten and Casey deals with heartache.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really happy that you all are enjoying the fanfic. I enjoy writing them! I am currently halfway through chapter 6. Everything is just flowing, right now. I can't wait for what you all will think when Brettsey actually happens! It will come! :) Chicago Fire airs tonight 2/10/2021 at 9 pm Eastern Standard Time, 8 pm Central.

“Gabby? Come with me to North Carolina.” Mills repeats his question to her.

“I love you too,” she says to him as she kisses him again. She pulls away from him, and asks “When do we leave? So I can go pack my things up.”

He smiles “We leave at 6 tomorrow evening. You think you can be ready by then?”

She cheerfully says “Hell yes. I’ll be ready!” She hugs him. They both laugh together. 

Matt stands off into the distance watching everything happen right underneath his nose. He thinks back to his and Sylvie’s conversation about Harrison. She said, _“Everything happens for a reason_.” Maybe this is one of those things that just happened and it wasn’t meant to be. 

The door to Mollys swung open, almost hitting Matt. Severide and Brett walkout to stand next to him witnessing it for themselves. Gabby kissing Peter and them running off to Peter's vehicle, hand in hand.

“What the hell just happened?” Severide outrages to Matt

“She’s gone. She’s going with Mills to North Carolina.” Casey explains.

Sylvie puts her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. “Severide and I are meeting one of my friends from Zumba class at the _Bad Axe Throwing_ , you’re more than welcome to join us?”

He knows he shouldn’t go with them, but watching Mills and Gabby kiss, he shouldn’t go home and start arguing with her. He needs a night out away from home, time for him to process everything that just happened.

He turns towards her, exhales, and smiles “Sounds like fun! Let’s go!”

Sylvie smiles “Oh yay! This is going to be so much fun. I’ll drive since you two have consumed alcohol in your systems.” 

Severide’s jaw drops trying to argue with her “I don’t even touch the stuff, it’s bad for your liver.”

Sylvie turns around glares at him “Oh really? Should I go back to Mollys and ask Herrman what your tab was before we walked out? I am pretty sure I had seen you sitting at the bar with a domestic beer in your hand.”

Matt looks at them, brows raised, trying not to laugh at the brother/ sister conversation that was happening right in front of him. 

Severide throws his hands in the air, accepting defeat. “Alright! You win! I don’t like this game anymore.” 

They all laugh on their way to Sylvie’s vehicle.

* * *

They reach _Bad Axe Throwing_. Sylvie parks the car. They get out of the vehicle. Sylvie spots her friend from Zumba. The three of them walk over to her. Sylvie hugs her and turns around to introduce the guys to her.

Sylvie smiles in excitement “Matt, Kelly, this is my friend Stella Kidd. Stella this is Matt Casey and Kelly Severide.”

Severide draws a blank face. He is flabbergast at how beautiful she is. He’s instantly weak in the knees over her. That has never happened before to him. He is always down for fun with any woman, but not with Stella. She is like the Nobel prize in his eyes. 

Stella gestures her hand out to shake their hands “Hi, it’s nice to meet you, boys.”

Matt shakes her hand saying “It’s nice to meet you too, Stella.”

Severide smirks at her, shaking her hand “Yeah, it’s nice to meet you. Brett talks about you all the time. It’s good to put a name to the beautiful face.”  
Stella blushes, nods her head at him, “Mhm.”

Sylvie and Matt look at each other confused as Severide is flirting with Stella. Sylvie intervenes in the gooshy romance that is going on.

Sylvie says with an awkward tone “Alright, let's head inside and get a target.” 

She leads the group inside. They get settled at their table with their target lane and axes.

Matt offers “I am gonna go get a soda, does anybody want anything?”

Sylvie looks at him, giggles “They don’t have anything like that. You have to bring in your own non-alcoholic beverages and food.”

The disappointment on his face “Well then what are we supposed to drink while whipping these axes around?”

Sylvie's eyes opened wide “Whipping? What is wrong with you, Matt?” 

Matt looks at her confused “That’s not what we do here? There is no whipping?”

“Um…. NO! Are you trying to kill someone?” she asks him.

“No, not intentionally,” he says

Kelly and Stella are laughing so hard at Matt and Sylvie’s conversation.

She suggests “There is a small convenience store across the street. We can go and get something for everyone.”

Matt and Sylvie put their jackets on and walk across the street to get drinks and snacks for everyone. They get everything they need and head for the checkout counter.

“Are you doing okay?” Sylvie asks in concern. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. It sucks that I watched Gabby run off with another guy. But it’s like you said the other morning at breakfast. Everything happens for a reason.” he tells her.

“Yeah, but don’t you even want to have at least some closure before she leaves or even to know why she is leaving?” she asks him. 

“I will in the morning before I leave for shift,” he says with confidence. 

She nods in agreement. “Well, we better get back before Severide overloads Stella with his masculinity.”

He chuckles “Yes, we better!

They get back to the _Bad Axe Throwing_ to find Severide and Stella throwing their axes at the targets. They set the snacks and drinks on the table. They take off their jackets and sit down to watch them. Severide turns around to find Sylvie and Matt sitting at the table smiling at how goofy he is being with Stella. 

“Alright, Stella let’s take a seat. it’s Casey and Brett’s turn to throw the ax,” he suggests.

Severide and Stell go to take a seat. Sylvie and Matt stand up and walk over to their lane.

“I bet you that I can hit the target before you do?” Sylvie says mischievously.

Matt turns his head squinting his eyes at her smiling, allowing her to talk to him like that. He responds “You do know that I am a firefighter and that I use an ax for a living right?”

“So, that doesn’t mean anything,” she says with a playful sass.

He grins “You’re on!”

Sylvie throws her ax first, she misses the target by a couple of inches. Matt throws his first ax and hits the target.

“Oh Bull's eye!” He yells in excitement. He looks over at Sylvie “I told you firefighters are great with their axes!” he smirks.

She squints her eyes “Oh you just got lucky is all.” she says in amusement.

He chuckles at her response. 

He hasn’t had this much fun in such a long time. He’s happy that his friends invited him out. It was a better idea than to go home and deal with Gabby leaving him for Mills, but he knows that he will have to go home and deal with it, eventually. It will be painful to process, but he will just have to deal with it. He knows once something is set in Gabby’s mind there is no way on changing it. He should’ve known something was coming, there was a calm before the storm.

_Bad Axe Throwing_ is about to close. So they all decide that it is time to go. They head outside by their vehicles. Sylvie hugs Stella goodbye. 

“I’ll see you in class tomorrow?” Sylvie asks.

“Yeah of course! I had fun, girl this was a great idea. We will have to get together again.” she suggests.

Severide stands there all smitten over Stella. “I agree we should all get together again!” 

Stella and Sylvie look at each other and giggle over Severides excitement.

Sylvie drives the guys back to Mollys to pick up their vehicle and head home for the evening. Matt stays in the vehicle with Sylvie as Severide gets out.

She turns her body facing Matt looking sympathetic “Alright I may have not known you long, but I noticed that you're avoiding something. What’s wrong Matt?”

“I’m avoiding going home. I just-- wish for once in my life that people can stop leaving. First, it was my parents.. then it was Darwin, Hallie, now Gabby? Like why do people always leave? It’s hard to keep up with and just-- hard to cope with.” he says in anger and frustration.

“It sucks. It really does, but just because people around you are leaving doesn’t mean it’s the end. Life is going to throw you curveballs, it’s your choice to decide to take advantage at the opportune moment or you let it pass right by you.” Sylvie says to Matt with empathy.

He sits there for a moment before saying anything. He nods in agreement “Thank you, Sylvie”

“You’re welcome. Now, it's time for you to go, so I can go home and catch the last part of House Hunters,” she says anxiously.

“Oh alright! I let you know how it goes.” he insists. He gets out of the vehicle.

“Of course! If you need me at 3 am my ringer is always on.” she reminds him.

* * *

Matt gets home after being out with Severide, Sylvie, and Stella, he notices luggage sitting by the front door. His eyes search the house for Gabby. He walks towards the bedroom finds her in there, gathering her personal hygiene. He sits on the bed waiting for her to notice him. She doesn’t. She is too busy packing. He finally spoke up after minutes of sitting there.

“Where are you going Gabby?” he asks in disbelief.

Gabby is startled by Matt’s voice. She turns around to look at him. She was dreading talking with him. She figured that she would just pack her things quickly and leave before he got home. That wasn't the case. She walks out of the bathroom to stand in front of him

“I’m leaving. Um… I’m leaving Chicago for good!” she shyly answers him.

“No, I get that. I noticed by the amount of luggage at the front door… Where are you going?” 

“I’m sorry Matt. I-- I don’t know how to say this, but um... I am in love with Peter Mills. We’re leaving for North Carolina together.” she says wholeheartedly.

He nods trying to understand her words, but it’s difficult to understand without his heart being ripped out of his chest all at the same time. 

“Did I do something wrong for you to make this decision?” he questions

“No, no you didn’t Matt. It’s me. I have been falling apart ever since Shay died. I’m not myself on calls, or at home with you. I just need to start over. I need to hit the refresh button.” she explains.

He stands up hugs her and walks her to the door. He put both hands on her shoulders looking into her eyes. Just so she can understand what he is about to tell her, he isn’t going to repeat himself to her, and he means every word he says.

“I will support you no matter what because… we were friends before we were even together, but I am letting you know now Gabby, you walk out that door now, you’re walking out on me. Which means I am not waiting for you to come back to you,” he says straightforwardly.

Her eyes get watery, she grabs her bags, turns around to him “I’m sorry Matt.” She opens the door and walks out. She closes the door behind her. 

He stood there watching her leave. He’s hurt, angry, pissed off, all of it. He knew nobody was going to stop her. This is what she wanted, he knows that. He knows this is for the best. He will focus on himself and what makes him happy. It will be a process, but he will come out, in the end, being the happiest man on earth. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The worst feeling in the world is knowing you did the best you could and it still wasn't good enough."- Anonymous


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brett gets a new partner. Casey reacted on a call, that left people question him. Someone from Brett's past walks into the firehouse disturbingly. Brett gets injured on a call. Severide and Casey have a guys night, that gets interrupted.

It’s been 3 months since she left. Casey has accepted that she won’t be coming back. He has focused on himself. He asked Severide to move in with him. He figured after losing Shay and himself watching Gabby walk out on him, that the two of them need each other. He was right. He has watched Severide go down a pretty dark road. It’s rough watching it all over again. Casey and Severide have been there before with Darrin. Darrin was a firefighter too. He was killed in action, just like Shay. They both overcame Darrin’s death. Casey knows Severide will do the same with Shay. As long as Casey is there for Severide, that’s all that matters.

Casey arrives early, before any second shift crew. He figured to get a jump start on paperwork before morning briefing.

Brett arrives 30 minutes before her shift starts. She grabs her duffle from her vehicle heads inside. She notices Cruz and Otis who are hanging out around the Squad table with Capp and Tony. She smiles and nods as she passes them before heading to her locker.

“Hey, Brett! Chief wanted me to let you know he wants to see you before morning briefing.” Cruz informs her.

“About what?” she asks

He shrugs his shoulder at her, “I have no clue. He didn’t look upset if that helps you any.”

She exhales, “Oh well that makes me feel so much better. Thanks, Cruz!”

He smiles at her “Yeah, no problem.”

She heads to her locker to get ready for her shift. She heads to Chief Boden’s office, but for her to get there, she walks past Casey’s quarters. She notices he’s in there doing paperwork. She’ll talk to him later, he seems busy. She reaches Boden’s office, knocks on his door, and walks in.

“You wanted to see me Chief? She asks

He gestures for her to sit down in the chair that's placed in front of his desk. She shits down, listening to what he has to say.

“Over the past 3 months, you have dinged every partner you’ve ever had, Sylvie.”

“I-I don’t know about dinging. I’ve--I’ve politely suggested we find better fits.” she proposes.

“The paramedic that you are getting today, Emily Foster. She stays here.” He commands.

She inhales deeply and exhales “Okay, Chief. It seems like we should--”

Chief Boden cuts him off mid-sentence “Give her a chance to succeed here, I completely agree.”

“Chief, I’m not trying to argue with your decision, bu--” 

“That’s good, I’ll see you in the morning briefing,” he adds

She nods in agreement with him. She walks away out of his office, as he chuckles to himself. 

“ _Everyone to the briefing room for a morning meeting with Chief Boden_ ” comes over the PA system.

Everyone walks into the briefing room, either they find a chair or they stand in the back of the room, as they wait for Chief Boden to come in. Chief Boden walks in and gives his announcements.

“Good morning everyone, we have a new paramedic, Emily Foster, who is partnered up with Brett. Today is her first day. Brett, is she here?” 

“I haven’t seen her Chief,” she answers

Everyone looks around the room staring at each other. Then from a distance, there are footsteps approaching rapidly.

Forster runs in “Did it start yet?” panting.

Everyone stares at her. She takes her sunglasses off “Oh! Damn it” 

She looks up at Chief Boden “I’m sorry Chief, Bodie.

He corrects her “It’s Chief Boden.”

“Right, Boden. Sorry,” she says embarrassed. 

Foster sets her bag down in the corner of the briefing room as the bell alarm goes off in the firehouse.

_Truck 81, Squad 2, Ambulance 61. Man trapped._

They all rush out of the briefing room heading for their rigs.

Foster explains “Manpower sent me to Ambo 41, so by the time I got there, they called my back with the correction.”

Brett nods “Uh- yeah that happens. So how long have you worked in the CFD Emily?”

“It’s my third month, but I am loving it so far,” she informs her

They hop into the rigs and speed off to the scene. Truck 81 and Squad 3 get information from the building manager on the situation.

The maintenance manager, Coleman, was working on the freight elevator. He was leaning into the shaft, when all of a sudden, the car dropped. It knocks him clean on the head, he falls, the car stops, then it starts back up again.

They get to the floor where Coleman is at. He is underneath the elevator with a head laceration. Casey notices him immediately. He takes off his helmet and jacket. He gets a quick running start and slides in between the floor and the elevator, where Coleman is at. Shocking the shit out of Severide. 

“Casey!” Severide yells in a panic

Otis runs to the elevator panel to cut the power for the elevator. The elevator continues to drop. The elevator gets inches away from closing in on Casey and Coleman before the elevator stops.

Severide gets Casey and Coleman out from underneath the elevator.

Coleman was handed off to Brett and Foster, to take him to Med. He will make a full recovery.

* * *

Brett and Foster get back to 51. They head into the common room where everyone is standing around for lunch. They wait in line to grab a plate.

“So who have you been partnered with? Brett asks

“Uh, I’ve had two partners. A guy name McAuley and a guy name Ogle,” she answers

“Oof” Brett expresses

“Are they friends of yours?” Foster asks

“Oh, LORD, no. One is Mr doom and gloom. The other one is just plain to mean.” she snickers

She exhales in relief “Thank god! I thought it was just me.”

They giggle as they reach the counter. They grab their plates and sandwiches. Sylvie turns around looking at the long table. There is an open spot next to Casey. She walks over to sit next to him. 

A man walks into the firehouse.

“Sylvie Brett!” he announces

Everyone looks up. Just as she sits down. She notices the voice and face. She and the rest of 51 look up at him confused.

“Harrison? Wha- What are you doing here?” 

She looks over to Casey with eyes wide open. He stands up with her. She holds him back. Because she knows his feelings towards Harrison. She walks over to him.

“I’ve come to apologize to you,” he says sympathetically 

“Maybe we should talk about this in private.” she insists.

“No this is as good of a place as any. I blew it, Sylvie. I looked at our coming wedding and I had doubts about whether I wanted to get married to the only girl I’ve ever loved and I let my cold feet get the best of me. And I’m sorry for calling off the wedding, I want you back!” he declares.

She stood there in silence. Not knowing what to say. She feels embarrassed that he gave her a speech in front of everyone she works with. 

“We should talk about this in private. Come with me!” she orders him.

She grabs his hand and drags him into the briefing room. Which is next to the common room. She closes the door behind her. But blinds stayed open for everyone from the common room to watch. She turns to him furious as hell. 

“What is wrong with you, Harrison? What gives you the right idea to walk into a place where I work for you to just say what you just said in front of everyone I work with?” she demands “What happened between us is over, Harrison. You walked away from us. You getting cold feet was a sign that we should not be getting married. I’m glad that you walked away from us. It was a huge eye-opener for me.” she verbalizes.

“Come on, Sylvie. I care about you! Do you know that house on Darlington? The one you always loved? I put an offer on it. A place where we can live, be married, and start a family. Please just come home with me.” he says with determination to make her change her mind. 

She’s shocked and amused at what he is saying.

“I’m starting something here, Harrison. I love it.” she pleads out bringing her hands to her chest. Hoping that he would understand.

He looks at her emotionless. “I know you better than anybody, and I know this place is not for you. You can’t handle this kind of life.” 

She looks at him with seriousness. “You know I escaped from what happened between you and me. I think this is the right place for me.”

“Sylvie, listen to me, I don’t think you are dealing with the reality of all of this. I mean, sooner or later this is going to be another one, of those things you give up on. This time you could get hurt. I’m worried about you. We all are.” he says emotionless.

She has a devastated look on her face. She looks at the floor, then looks out the window into the common room. Where everyone was watching, including Casey. She looks back at Harrison.

“There it is. That feeling. I haven’t felt that since I left Fowlerton since you left me. I forgot all about it. That pit in my stomach that I get when you try to cut me down and make me feel like I am crazy.” she explains

“Sylvie, come on!” 

“I think you should leave.” she insists.

The bell alarms for Ambo 61. _Ambulance 61, wellness check_

She starts walking towards the doors of the briefing room.

“Sylvie, you walk out that door. I’m not going to be here when you get back.” he declares.

She looks at him like she doesn’t care. She is done with him. She's over Harrison and has been since she left Fowlerton. She just needed to be reminded of why she left to begin with. She opens the doors, walks out, and meets up with Foster on their way to the rig.

"Everything okay?" Foster asks

"Yeah. Everything's great." She answers.

They show up on the scene near the river walk, as the police are there.

“What do we got?” Brett asks

“We have a guy who needs some serious medical attention.” the officer informs

He leads them to the other officer who has a man in custody. The suspect is in nothing but his underwear.

Brett and Foster chuckle. She looks at Foster “Get ready.”

Brett asks the officer “What is he on?

“You’re the Medic.” the officer responds

“So what, you called us here so you can cut down on your paperwork?” Brett questions

The officer replies “We can’t click a guy up for rocking the banana hammock.”

Brett whispers to Foster “Chicago’s Finest it seems like.”

Foster asks the suspect “You got a name, big fella?”

The suspect leaps towards Foster as the officers hold him back from attacking her. Brett gets in front of him using all the force she has and pushes him back into the railing on the bridge. They get him on the stretcher face down. 

“10 mg of versed to help him sleep? Foster suggests

“Haha. That’s against regulations.” Brett declares

Brett gets in the back of the rig with the guy, as Foster gets in the driver seat. 

Brett calmly asks “Okay I’m gonna need you to turn over. We’re gonna take good care of you.”

The guy leaps off the stretcher and punches Brett in the face. Brett fights him in the back of the rig. Foster jumps out of the driver’s seat, runs to the back of the rig, opens the door, grabs a syringe, fills it with versed and plunges it into the guy’s leg. The guy passes out.

“The hell with regulations,” Foster says

Brett pushes the guy back onto the stretcher. 

Brett breathes in heavily. “Thanks for looking out.”

Foster nods “Anytime.”

* * *

They get back to 51. Brett hops out of the rig, looks into the side mirror at the shiner she just got. 

She looks at Foster with worry “Does it look that bad?”

“No, you look fine. You can’t even tell you got punched in the face by some crazy guy who was on something.” Foster says sarcastically, trying to joke about it with her partner.

Brett gives her a stern look. “Hm, maybe we should ask the others what they think, just to see if you're lying?”

They giggle together. “Okay, maybe I am lying. But in all honesty, Brett it doesn’t even look that bad. Just put some ice on it. You’ll be fine.” Foster reminds her.

They walk off the app floor, into the common room, to the refrigerator to grab a bag of ice for her black eye. 

“So who was the guy?” Foster asks Brett.

“He was an ex-fiance. He was stopping by to say ‘Hi’, that’s all.” 

“Really? It sounded like he wanted you back, or something.” Foster points out.

“Yeah, well all it took for me to realize how much he cuts me down and makes me feel crazy, that we aren’t meant for each other,” Brett tells her. 

“Girl, I know you don’t need back up, because your badass as is, but if you need me I got your back!” Foster comforts her.

Brett nods in amusement “Thanks! I’m gonna go sit down for a bit.”

“Cool, I’m gonna do inventory on the rig.” Foster gestures her thumbs towards the app floor.

  
  


Brett goes to sit down on her bunk. Casey paces back and forth in his quarters, he notices Brett sitting on her bunk with a bag of ice on her face.

He walks out of his quarters, up to her. “Everything okay?” he asks curiously.

Brett looks up at him innocently “Yeah, everything is fine. Nothing going on here.” 

He leans in, shocked “You’re kidding me right, Brett? 

She purses her lips together, looking around with one eye, trying to avoid what happened to her.

He sits down on her bed, removes the ice from her eye “They why do you have a bag of ice on your eye?” he says worriedly. “Aw Brett! What happened?” he asks.

“Patient was on something. He jumped off the stretcher and clocked me. Foster gave him versed and he was out. Foster said ‘It looks fine.’ I know she lied.” she explains as she chuckles. “But I am okay. I promise. Nothing that I can’t handle.”

He looks at her enthused “If you say your okay. Then I believe you.” 

She winces as she puts the ice back on her eye.

“Are you okay?” She questions him.

He looks at her innocently. “Yeah, I’m fine. Nothing going on here.” as he repeats her words

“Really?! I swear I heard from Severide that you had a death wish earlier on this morning’s call.”

He breathes deeply and lets it out “Oh. You heard about that?”

“Um... Yeah! Like what the hell Casey! You can’t be doing things like that, before you know it I won’t just be saving a victim’s life I’ll be saving your life too.” she says 

“Alright. Alright. You’re right! I promise I won’t do anything stupid like that again.” He assures her.

She smiles and nods at him in agreement. “You better not!” 

He chuckles as he gets up off her bed. “I better get back to finishing up paperwork before shift ends.

She smiles “Okay, Thank you for checking up on me.”

“Yeah, of course.” 

* * *

It’s the end of shift. Severide stops Casey on his way out of the firehouse.

“Hey, Case what are you doing right now?” Severide asks.

“I have to check on a few supplies for some clients, then heading home. Why what’s up?” Casey asks curiously.

“No reason, let’s stay in and watch the Blackhawks game tonight, drink a few beers, smoke some cigars. That’s if you don’t have any plans for tonight?”

“Nah... I don’t have any plans. Let’s do it. We haven’t had a guys night in a while.” 

“Alright, cool!” Severide nods in excitement.

Matt checks on his clients for the appliances he’s been waiting on for the past week. He gets 3 ovens, 4 refrigerators, and a new window installed for his clients. It’s close to dinner time, he thought it was much later than that. He heads home, but before he does that, he stops at the store to pick up more beer and dinner for him and Severide. He knows that he isn’t in the mood to cook dinner and bet that Severide didn’t cook either. He gets home to find Severide sitting in a lawn chair outside on the patio, about to light his cigar. He walks out to sit next to him. Severide hands him a cigar. He lit his cigar. They just sit there in silence for a moment.

“So how are you holding up?” Severide asks

Casey’s brow furrows “I’m fine. Why?” 

“Just checking after that call yesterday morning.” 

“Yeah, I’ve already gotten a lecture from Brett before shift ended,” he explains.

“Oh, good! I’m glad someone is giving you the lecture and not just me,” he says relieved. 

Casey sighs. "Yeah, I never thought she would give me a lecture. But she did, it caught me off guard.” He pauses for a moment “Have you heard from Stella recently?"

Severide shrugs his shoulders "Not since we went to throw axes."

Casey’s eyes widened "Dude that was 3 months ago!"

"Yeah I know, I figured she was busy or something."

They sat there in silence.

"It's funny. After Shay's death, I thought the world had stopped spinning, but when I met Stella my world had spun again. I don't know. It just seems like Shay sent Stella to me for some reason." Severide express

"How do you figure?" Casey squints his eyes in curiosity.

"I don't know. I'll let you know when I figure it out." 

They sit there in silence enjoying their cigars and the stillness of the night. Listening to the sound of traffic drive by. Casey’s phone vibrates in his pocket. He pulls it out.

“It’s Brett?” he looks at Severide confused.

“ _Hey, Sylvie, What’s up?”_

Sylvie is crying hysterically over the phone. He sits up straight in his chair.

“ _Sylvie slow down! What’s going on?”_

Severide looks confused at Casey.

_“Where is she? Are you both okay?”_

Severide's heart is beating out of his chest. He starts to panic. He might only have known Brett for a little bit of time, but he looks at her like a sister. She helped him give others a second chance even if they didn’t deserve it. But from the sound of the conversation, she is with someone. The only people that he can think she could be with are either, Foster or Stella. He’s trying to listen, but can’t make out what is being said.

_“Sylvie, I am gonna need you and Stella to get somewhere safe and call the police. Severide and I will be right there! What’s the address?”_

_“Yeah. Okay, we will be right there! Stay put!”_

He hangs up the phone, looks over at Severide frightened “We have to go, now! I will explain on the way.”

As they both get up out of their lawn chairs and head for the door. Matt grabs his keys and they both head for his truck.

Severide’s and Casey’s emotions are running wild. What is going on? What happened for Sylvie to call Matt late at night. Something terrible is going on or it already happened. Severide may have not heard from Stella in months, but at least he’s going to see her tonight, even under the circumstances she and Brett are in right now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Note to Self:  
> Nobody is worth stressing over.  
> Move on.  
> It's okay to leave people behind.  
> Go find yourself.  
> The world is yours.  
> Life goes on."  
> -Unknown


	6. Stella and Sylvie go on a bar crawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sylvie and Stella go bar crawling. They get back to Stella's house and things just escalate. Matt and Kelly are supportive friends to Sylvie and Stella. Stella gets a phone call, that changes her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I would like to thank everyone for leaving Kudos after each chapter, along with comments responding back about the chapter. Thank you so much. I know I haven't posted a chapter in a week. I have been busy with work and then being in the Emergency Room. I haven't had the chance to write. But I am back at it again. I have so much to write. The thoughts I have for the next chapter are just pouring out of me!

Sylvie gets home from working a 24-hour shift. She’s beat. Getting a back eye was not on the agenda for her. She unlocks her door, walks into her apartment, and lays down on her couch. She turns on her television to  _ The Property Brothers _ and falls asleep.

She’s awoken by a loud bang, from her neighbors slamming their doors. She rubs her eyes and looks at her phone. She had 2 text messages and 1 missed call all from Stella. She calls Stella back.

“Hey, sorry I missed your call. I just woke up.”

“ _ It’s alright girl! Do you want to go out tonight? We don’t work tomorrow.” _

“Yeah, where do you want to go? Sylvie asks

_ “I was thinking bar crawl. Grant is out with his band tonight and won’t be back until late tonight.” _

“Yeah, let me get ready and I’ll come to pick you up.” Sylvie offers. 

She hops into the shower. She washes her hair in Vanilla Milk and Papaya shampoo and conditioner. She washes her body in Dove coconut milk. It makes her skin so soft after using it. She rinses off and hops out of the shower. She leaves her hair down, using a curling mousse, that leaves her hair wavy, more than curly. She puts moisturizer on her face. While the moisturizer is drying, she walks to her closet to find a sexy little black dress with spaghetti straps. She puts on her dress, grabs a pair of 3 inches black high heels to go with her dress. She heads back into her bathroom to finish her make-up. She hid her black-eye very well. 

She looks at herself in the mirror “Perfect!” she says. She sends Stella a selfie with the caption “I’m all ready for an awesome night!”

She finishes putting her heels on when her phone goes off. It’s Stella responding to her selfie.

_ “Oo girl! I love it!”  _

She grabs her wallet, her keys, and heads out the door. She locks her apartment and walks to her vehicle. She pulls up to Stella’s house. She gets in her car and they drive off to the first bar.

They arrive at the first bar. They order their mixed cocktails with a shot of tequila, that’s what they, mainly Stella, have ordered all night. Once they are finished with their drinks, they head to the dance floor to dance. They are laughing and having a good time. They were there for maybe about an hour before heading to the next bar.

By the time they reached the 4th bar of the night, Stella was buzzing. Sylvie paced herself all night since she was driving. She wasn’t drunk, nor buzzed. She figured Stella needed the night out more than her. Stella has been through so much since  _ Bad Axe Throwing _ . Her husband is an abusive drug user. She has tried helping him, but he won’t get the help. Her hands are tied at this point. Grant, Stella’s husband, hasn’t laid his hands on her, as far as Sylvie knows. 

The last bar they were at was closing early. They decided that it was time to go home. Sylvie pulls up to Stella’s house. They sat there for a minute, in silence.

Stella sighs “I don’t want to go inside.”

Sylvie looks at her confused “Why not?”

“I’ve tried helping Grant. He won’t listen to me. He thinks he doesn’t have a problem.”

“Come on. I’ll walk you inside.” Sylvie insists.

“Thanks, Sylvie,” Stella says in appreciation. 

They walked up to the front porch, as the door swung open.

It was Grant. He looks like he hasn’t shaved in weeks, his hair is a mess, and his clothes look torn like he just got out of a fight or something. 

“Where have you been Stella Bella?” he asks 

“Grant. This is my friend Sylvie. She and I went out tonight.” she tells him

“Oh, you both went dressed like that?” he questions both of them

“GRANT!” Stella exclaims.

Stella looks at Sylvie apologetically, “I’m so sorry, Sylvie.”

“No, it’s okay. Hey Stella, why don’t you stay with me tonight?” she asks politely 

He grabs Stella’s wrists “NO! She’s not going anywhere! She is staying here!” he raises his voice with anger towards Sylvie.

“GRANT! Let go of me!” Stella yells.

“Let go of her!

Grant grabs them both and pulls them inside. He shoves Sylvie into the couch and throws Stella up against the wall. He heads toward Stella, punching her in the face. Sylvie gets up off the couch, finds where he’s at, jumps on his back, trying to distract him from punching Stella. Grant backs up into a door frame, knocking the wind out of Sylvie. Stella kicks him in the chest. He’s on the floor for a minute. He gets back up and runs through the house chasing Stella. Sylvie grabs a lamp that was sitting on an end table and hits Grant in the back of the head. Both girls ran out the front door, towards Sylvie’s vehicle. They get in and lock the doors. They are panting.

Sylvie grabs her phone.

“What are you doing?” Stella asks

Sylvie swallows, trying to catch her breath “I’m calling Matt!”

“No cops!” she exclaims

“You’re kidding!?”

“No, I’m not kidding!”

“Stella, he just assaulted us. He laid his hands-on us!” she reminds her

Stella defends him “I know, he’s just high, he didn’t mean to.” 

“How can you just sit back and let him control you like that? You don’t deserve that! You don’t deserve a man who abuses drugs and beats you and or your friends!” Sylvie tells her.

“I know but he was there for me when nobody else was,” Stella explains 

Sylvie turns towards her sympathetically, “I get that, I do but that was a lifetime ago. You have grown up. He hasn’t. This is out of your control. Let the lawyers and rehab help him. You have done everything you could.” 

Stella responds “I can fix this. He’s used before and I have gotten him out of it. He’s my husband, Sylvie. ‘For better or for worse, sickness and in health’.”

Sylvie nods in agreement, “Yes I get it, your wedding vows. But where in the vows does it say ‘I shall not beat my spouse?’ Stella come on. If this has been going on as long as I think. He isn’t going to change. He will come to his senses once the drugs wear off, he will be begging and pleading on his hands and knees for you to forgive him. How many more times do you have to put up with this before, you are officially done with him? You need to focus on yourself and what makes you happy. As long as I have known you, you are happy without him.”

Stella nods in agreement, “Okay, fine. You’re right!”

“Okay, let me call Matt. He’ll come to meet us,” she says calmly

She dials Matt’s number into her phone. She puts him on speaker. It rings.

_ “Hey, Sylvie What’s up?” _

She cries hysterically “Matt you need to come to Stella’s house! Her husband just attacked us!”

_ “Sylvie, slow down! What’s going on?” _

“Stella and I went out for a girl’s night, while her husband was with his band, we came back to her house, I walked her to the front porch and he dragged us both into the house, beating us both.” she panics

_ “Where is she? Are you both okay?” _

She assures him “She is here with me. We’re both fine. Just scared”

_ “Sylvie, I am gonna need you and Stella to get somewhere safe and call the police. Severide and I will be right there! What’s the address?” _

“We’re on Fairview Ave on the corner sitting in my vehicle.”

_ “Yeah. Okay, we will be right there! Stay put!” _

The line disconnects. Sylvie calls the police for an assault. She gives the 9-1-1 dispatch the information they asked for. Officers showed up on the scene. Matt and Kelly were right behind them.

Sylvie and Stella stepped out of the vehicle to talk to the officers. As they were finished talking to them. They head over to the ambulance to get checked out. The officer on the scene approaches them.

“Where did you say you left him?” the officer questions them.

Stella with a confused but confident “Sylvie knocked him unconscious at the bottom of the stairs with a lamp. Why?”

“He’s not there.”

Sylvie looks at him, looks at Stella worried.

“No, he was there when we ran out of the house,” Stella repeats her statement to the officer.”

“He must’ve fled once he came to. We’ll put a BOLO on him.” the officer suggested. 

Stella looks at Sylvie scared, she puts her head on her shoulder “What are we going to do?”

“You’re gonna stay with me until he is caught,” Sylvie assures her.

“Thanks, Brett.” 

  
  


Matt searches for Sylvie. He finally lands his eyes on her in a sexy black dress that shows off her figure, very well. The heels give off the length of her legs. She is breathtaking in his eyes. He started to feel something for her. The more he sees her the more he’s developing some sort of affection for her. He brushes it off. Hoping that she nor anybody notices, but he can’t help it.

Severide is anxious to see Stella again, even under the circumstances. He wishes they had seen each other more before tonight. Once his eyes land on her, he is relieved to see that she is alright. He knows the outside of her looks damaged, but he doesn’t know about how she is feeling on the inside. 

The officers approach Stella and Sylvie.

“Where did you ladies say you left him at?

They look at each other. Stella swallows, “On the last step of the stairs.”

“Yeah, I hit him with a lamp,” Sylvie adds

The officer looks perplexed, “He’s not in there. We swept the entire house. There were signs of struggle but no person was inside.”

The girls have a worried look on their faces. 

“Sylvie!” Matt calls out to her, making his way through the crowd.

She looks for who was calling her. She recognizes the voice, “Matt!” she calls back in relief. 

Matt and Kelly reach the girls at the back of the ambulance. 

“We will search the perimeter of the home, but it looks like he fled on foot. It will take a while to track him down.” the officer informs them.

They nod in agreement. “Thanks, officer,” Sylvie responds.

Stella looks at Sylvie with guilt, “I’m sorry, Sylvie. He’s never done this before, ever!”   
“It’s okay, Stella. I’m just glad that I was here with you. You’re not alone in this. We can help you!”

Severide looks at her “Where are you going to be staying?”

“I-I don’t know. Maybe I’ll get a hotel room down the street from firehouse 111.” Stella says calmly.

She’s a firefighter?! Oh, now that’s hot! Severide is now officially in love with her! But he can’t tell her that. He needs to be discrete.

Severide’s eyes open wide, “Firehouse 111? Are you a firefighter?”

Stella looks confused at Severide, “Yeah, I have been for a while. I’ve been at 111 for 3 months, floating, just trying to find a permanent home.”

Severide nods in understanding.

“You can stay with me, Stella.” Sylvie offers

“Wait, are you sure?” she questions her. 

“Yeah, of course!” Sylvie smiles encouragingly. 

Stella smiles and hugs Sylvie. “Thanks, girl! I appreciate this so much! Just until Grant is arrested and then I will be out of your hair!”

Sylvie winces in pain but waves her off “No take all the time you need. There is no rush at all!”

“Sylvie are you okay?” Matt noticing her wince.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just some bruising on my back from getting shoved into the door frame is all. Nothing serious.” she says with a positive attitude.

“Are you sure that Grant isn’t going to find both of you at Sylvie’s place?” Matt questions them both

“He shouldn’t I don’t think he has ever been to my apartment,” Sylvie says

“Actually… He’s driven by while I was there hanging out with you one night.” Stella informs them.

Severide speaks up, “Then you two can stay with us while this all blows over.”

Sylvie waves off his gesture, “No, that’s not necessary.”

“No, he’s right. If he knows where Stella might be at, that will be the first place he will check.” Matt says worriedly.

Stella and Sylvie glared at each other and nodded in agreement.

Severide goes with Stella to get some of her things from inside her house.

Sylvie stayed outside with Matt. She takes off her blanket. He notices the bruising on her back. He winces at her like he can feel her pain. She turns around to see him wincing.

Her brow furrows “What’s wrong?” she asks

He breaks his wince, “Nothing.”

“Let get you two home,” he suggests

He takes off his jacket and wraps it around her.

He’s being nice to her, more like a gentleman. She’s never really had that ever in her life. He’s being a good friend to her. But how come every time he is around she somehow gets little butterflies in her stomach. She can’t feel something for him. It’s only been a few months since his Gabby left. The only way she will feel something for him is if he says he’s over Gabby and that he’s moved on, or he shows some sign that he is into her. She just needs something to know that he is over his ex. But why? She doesn’t even know her feelings towards him. She just knows she feels something for him.

* * *

Stella woke up early. She walks into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. As she is standing there, waiting, her phone rings. It’s headquarters. She is given orders to report to firehouse 51 permanently. She is ecstatic! She gets to be at a firehouse with her best friend, Sylvie, Matt, and Severide that she is starting to catch feelings for. She’s standing there flabbergasted. She runs into Casey’s room where they both are staying for the time being, until the whole Grant situation is resolved. She jumps on the bed to wake Sylvie up.

“BRETT! BRETT! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! I have some amazing news to tell you!” Stella excitedly jumps on the bed.

Brett rolls over moans “Go back to bed! It’s too early to be this excited.”

Matt wakes up to hear the commotion going on in his room. He walks into his room half awake half asleep.

He leans upon the door frame, rubbing his eyes, “Ladies it is six in the morning. What in the world is going on?”

Brett flips the covers over her, “Someone put energizer bunny batteries in her and she won’t go back to sleep.”

Matt chuckles in amusement at Sylvie’s comment. “What?”

“Brett won’t wake up for me to tell her. But since you’re awake, I’m gonna tell you!” she smiles

He has one eye open and the other eye closed, “Alright. What is your news?” as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

“I report to 51 this morning permanently on Truck 81!” Stella exclaims. “And you’re my Lieutenant!”

Matt’s eyes widen and smile at her, then watches from the corner of his eye. Sylvie throws the covers off of her. 

Sylvie throws the covers off of her, jumps out of bed, and starts jumping around the room with Stella “No freakin way!”

Matt stands in the doorway watching too-grown adults jump around in glee. He’s happy that they are both happy. Severide comes running out of his room like his tail is on fire.

“What happened? What’s going on?” He asks standing in his boxes next to Matt.

Matt looks up and down at him “Did you forget your pants?”

“All I heard was screaming, there was no time for pants,” Severide tells him.

“Stella is stationed at 51 permanently!” Brett exclaims

He smiles at Stella, “That’s great news!”

She looks up and down at him, smirking, “Yeah, I report first thing this morning.”

He’s wearing no pants, he’s standing there in his boxers, no shirt, just boxers. She looks him up and down, in awe. Then she turns to Sylvie and they continue to jump around in excitement. While Matt and Kelly watch them. They can’t help but laugh at them.

Stella can’t wait to start working at 51 permanently! After months of searching for a house, she finally has one. After getting attacked by her husband, this is the best news she could ever receive. As for her and Severide, she can have feelings for him, but she can’t commit to him until everything with her marriage is resolved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Stop telling yourself you can fix him. He's been this way for a long, long time and he doesn't intend to change. Don't be the sacrificial lamb on the altar of his rage. Don't play the martyr to his hate. You can never save someone by letting them destroy you. That's not love, it's relational suicide. Save yourself instead. Get out while you can." -John Mark Green


	7. I instantly started dreaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Casey's feelings are getting stronger for Brett. Stella and Foster encourage Brett to act on her feelings. Brett and Stella get an unexpected visitor after their shift. Matt and Sylvie talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "When you find that someone that you click with, all the rules of who you should or shouldn’t date go out the window.” - Emily Foster (Paramedic on 61)

Sylvie and Stella drive into work together, so she can give her the tour of firehouse 51 before shift starts. They arrive at the firehouse. They head to the lockers to put their duffle bags away. Sylvie starts on the tour of the firehouse. On the tour, Stella stopped Sylvie while they were on the app floor behind the ambulance.

“So what is going on with you and Casey?” Stella smirks.

Sylvie studders “W-w-what do you mean?” As she blinks multiple times and blushes as she heard Casey.

Stella smiles big at her, “You like him, don’t you? Girl I see everything between the two of you.”

Sylvie looks at her confused, “What are you talking about?”

“Girl I watched him from my front porch the other night while Kelly and I were getting my things. He gave you his jacket. In high school that’s a man who is marking his territory.”

Sylvie giggles, “Oh come on! That’s not what it looked like. He noticed that I was cold due to what I was wearing. He was just being nice.”

“Really because once he and Kelly showed up as we were finished getting checked out by the paramedics, he couldn’t take his worried eyes off of you, the whole night. And you reciprocated ”

“So, he was being a good supportive friend.”

Foster walks up to Sylvie and Kidd at the ambo.

“Hey! You’re new here? I’m Emily Foster, I’m Brett’s partner at 61.” Foster reaches out to shake Stella’s hand.

“Hey, nice to meet you. I’m Stella Kidd. I’m a firefighter on 81.” Kidd shakes her hand.

“Oh cool! So what’s the gossip about now?” Foster leans in whispering.

“Oh, I’m just asking Brett here about what’s going on with her and Casey,” Kidd playfully smirks

“Girl, You should just jump him already!” Foster exclaims

Sylvie’s cheeks get bright red. She notices someone coming in. It’s Lieutenant Matt Casey. He notices them standing there.

He nods, “Good morning ladies.”

Sylvie starts coughing like she forgot how to swallow. She covers her mouth and smiles at him.

He quivers his brow, “You alright Brett?”

She nods in agreement, as she continues to cough. Foster hands her a bottle of water.

Stella’s eyes popped out at her, with her lips pursed together “Um... Brett, what was that?”

“I-I-don’t know. I think I forgot to swallow my spit or something,” she says as she’s all flustered.

Kidd and Foster look at each other, then look back at Brett. 

“Girl you got it bad,” Stella points out to the obvious. 

“I got what bad?” Brett questions.

“Come on Brett! Have you ever considered what it would be like to be in a relationship with Casey?” Foster asks

Brett crosses her arms. “I have thought about him being more than just a friend, but how am I supposed to know if he is over his ex or not?”

“Have you even talked to him?” Kidd asks her

“Well, no. I mean I was kind of busy on a call getting punched in the face along with getting attacked by your husband,” Brett explains

Stella nods in agreement. “Well, that’s all done and over with right now.”

Foster looks at her and Stella. “You can come up with all the excuses you want, but you know when you find that someone that you click with, all the rules of who you should or shouldn’t date go out the window.”

Kidd nods then turns her head toward Severide who is sitting at the squad table.

The bells go off for  _ Ambulance 61, Truck 81  _ injured person.

* * *

Truck 81 and Ambulance 61 show up on the scene where there were a group of young adults shooting roman candles at each other. The victim was trying to shoot five roman candles off at the same time, but it exploded in his hand. Brett rushes over to the victim that was injured.

“Hi, I’m Sylvie Brett. Let me take a look at your hand.”

She looks at his hand and notices two fingers are missing. 

“Uh… Casey. We have two missing digits.” Brett informs him

“Copy that,” he responds to her.

“Foster gave him 5 milligrams of morphine.” Brett orders

While Truck 81 is searching in the area of where the fingers might be at. There is a group of guys still shooting off roman candles at each other. One of the roman candles comes flying between Brett and Foster.

“Hey, WATCH IT!” Foster yells

“Hey, knock it off!” Casey yells at them

Just as soon as he finishes yelling. A roman candle flies right into Casey’s neck.

“Damn it.” Casey murmurs

Otis and Mouch help Foster load the patient into the ambo, while Casey sat on the front bumper of the firetruck. Brett walks over to him to get a good look at his neck.

“Let me see that neck.” Brett insists.

He sits there “Ah it’s nothing.”

She looks at him sternly, “It’s not nothing.”

She looks into the jump bag for the supplies she will need. She looks at his neck.

“There is a little bit of carbon debris in there, let’s irrigate it so it doesn’t get infected,” she says observing the injury on his neck.

“I’ll just wash it out when I get back to the house,” he tells her.

Brett grabs the saline solution syringe and irrigates the debris from his neck.

He holds his breath and winces, “Oh, yep, okay.”

She grabs the gauze and tape to cover the burn on his neck. “Promise you’ll keep this clean and dry and to change the bandage.” She looks at him seriously.

“Yeah sure,” he says with a straight face. 

She packs her jump bag up and looks at him with her eyes squinting at him. “Promise?”

He smiles and nods at her. “Yes, I promise.”

He stares at her as she is walking away. He’s starting to fall in love with her. Should he say something to her? Should he just take those feelings and shove them deep down inside of him? He’s just doesn’t know if she has the same feelings for him as he does for her. Maybe for now until she shows a sign that she is interested in him, he will just keep it to himself.

* * *

It’s the end of shift. Sylvie and Stella are on their way back to the car when Grant shows up to talk to Stella. Casey and Severide are standing on the app floor looking out to see what is going on. They are prepared to run to them if they need to.

Stella looks up and see’s Grant standing at the end of the driveway of 51. “You have a lot of nerve showing up here Grant!” She exclaims

“I’m so sorry Stella Bell.” He pleads

“No Grant! I am done with your apologies. I’ve tried helping you. I’ve been there for you when nobody else was. I am at my ends. I am completely drained by you.” Stella explains.

“Stella Bell, Please I wanna make this right. I promise I won’t do it again.”

Stella sighs, “No Grant. You’ve said this before and each time it gets worse.”

Sylvie stands behind Grant. “What makes you think that the next time it happens again Stella, or anyone else, could be put into the hospital, or even worse dead?” 

Grant gestures his hands understanding what is being said. “I know. I know. I get it I’m sorry for hurting you, the both of you. I know I have to get better. I need to get better.”

Stella gives him a mean stern look, “Then you need to go to rehab and sign these divorce papers that I have drawn up. I am done, Grant. I can’t keep doing this anymore. Come with us. We’ll get you to a rehab facility, but you need to sign these papers.”

“Okay fine.” he agrees.

Grant signs the divorce papers. They get into Sylvie’s vehicle and drove off to the rehab facility. Casey and Severide stood there confused.

“We’ll know what happened when we get home right?” Severide asks

“Of course we will. Especially from Sylvie, she’s not great with secrets.” Casey chuckles

Severide chuckles along with Casey. 

* * *

Casey drove to the grocery store to get food for dinner tonight. He makes a  _ Creamy Tomato Chicken Skillet Dinner _ . He heads home to start prepping for dinner.

Sylvie and Stella pull up to Casey’s house. They sit in the vehicle to talk.

“Are you sure you want to pack your things and go home?” Sylvie asks 

Stells nods, “Yeah. I do. Now that Grant is in rehab, I can finally get my life back together.”

“Do you think you can handle the house all by yourself?” Sylvie questions her.

“Nah. I’m gonna sell the house and find something smaller,” Stella tells her.

“Stella it’s late you shouldn’t be moving back into your house tonight. Just wait until tomorrow to pack your things.” Sylvie says concerned. 

Stella ponders her thoughts. “You’re right. I’ll wait until tomorrow.”

“Great! Let’s head inside to see what the guys are doing.” Sylvie smiles 

Stella notices Severide getting out of his vehicle and heading inside.

“I need to talk to Severide. I’ll meet you inside.” Stella half-smiles to Sylvie.

“Okay.”

Sylvie heads inside while Stella talks to Severide. As Sylvie approaches the door, she can smell what is cooking and she loves whatever it is. She opens the door and the smell of dinner hits her in the face. She instantly going into dream mode. She walks into the kitchen and finds a glass of wine, filled with wine. She has got to be dreaming right? All she needs is a man to pop up and it will be a perfect dream of hers. Matt was bent over grabbing the chicken out of the over. He pops up. He puts the chicken on the stovetop. He turns around to see Sylvie there. Sylvie walks around the island in the kitchen. She places her hands on his cheeks and kisses him. She pulls back. 

“I’m sorry. I smelled dinner and instantly started dreaming.” She says as she blushes.

“No. It’s okay,” he tells her.

They both stare at each other, in silence.

“Well I guess I’ll just leave you to finish dinner,” she says as she walks away still blushing.

Matt grabs her hand to stop her from leaving. He stares into her blue eyes. He lightly brushes the hair out of her face. He caresses her face with his hands and pulls her in to kiss her passionately. He picks her up and places her on the counter as he continues to kiss her.

Kelly and Stella walk in and stood at the entrance of the kitchen watching. Stella smiles at them. She is jumping for joy on the inside. She is happy that they are somewhat together.

Kelly clears his throat.

Matt and Sylvie stop kissing and slowly look over to find Kelly and Stella standing there. They both are smiling. 

Sylvie hops off the counter, fixes her shirt and hair. She purses her lips and walks into Casey’s rooms. Stella follows her, as Severide stays in the kitchen.

Stella’s mouth drops in shock “Sylvie Brett! What was that all about?” 

She says innocently, “Nothing. Really.”

“That didn’t seem like nothing. It looked like you and Casey were doing some lip-locking.”

“You saw that huh? Okay, okay, fine. I starting dreaming once I smelled dinner cooking and then seeing a glass of wine on the counter, and then seeing him standing there my mind shut off and my body just kept going. The next thing I know, I opened my eyes and he was there.” Sylvie explains herself

“So... you dream about Casey making dinner for you and having a glass of wine with him?” Stella questions her

“Well… um…” she purses her lips even tighter. “No… I just never had anyone who cooked dinner for me, let alone have a glass of wine waiting for me. Like it was just perfect.”

Stella nods as she smiles at her, “And the kiss? How was it?”

“Electrifying. Perfect. Fireworks.” she describes

  
  


Severide smiles a Casey, as he finishes up with dinner. 

“What?” Casey asks

“You’re seriously gonna stand there and not tell me what that kiss was all about?” Severide questions him.

Casey scratches his head “I just happened. She kissed me first. She tried walking away until I stopped her to kiss her again.”

Severide nods, “So what does this mean for the two of you? Are you together or not?”

“I would love to be together with her, but I just don’t know if she feels the same,” he says truthfully.

“Just tell her how you feel. She might feel the same way.” Severide assures him

Casey nods at Severide as Sylvie and Stella walk back into the kitchen.

“So...um… Dinner is ready.” Casey announces

“Well, Severide and I have plans so we’ll just get out of your hair,” Stella tells them.

Severide and Stella leave the house. Leaving Sylvie and Matt in the kitchen. Sylvie grabs plates and silverware on the table, as Matt grabs the food to put in the center of the table. They place the food on their plates and start eating.

“So what do you think?” Matt asks her

“This is delicious. Thank you.” she expresses “So um… about earlier the kiss. I’m sorry for that. It’s just I’ve never had anyone who’s cooked dinner for me, let alone have a glass of wine already poured into the glass. It was just something I have always dreamt about and have wanted.” She explains to him.

“I get it. But I’m not sorry for kissing you,” he informs her. 

She furrows her brow in confusion. “Why not?

He sits there inhales, then exhales “The truth is you’re the only one who has been on my mind. I just don’t see myself with anyone else, other than you.”

He knows he dropped a bomb in her lap but she can handle just about anything that is thrown her way.

She sits there processing everything that he just said. They both sit there in silence. She finishes her meal, gets up to take care of her dishes, turns around as she’s standing at the sink to find him standing behind her.

“Matt, um…” she pauses staring into his eyes. “I feel the same way. I worry every time you rush into a burning building. I c-care about you so much. But are you sure this is what you want?” she says relieved.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in life. You’re the reason why I am happy. I’ll choose you over and over, without a pause, without a doubt, in a heartbeat. I will always choose you!”

She lowers her head, looking at the floor. Trying to hide the tears from him. He takes his hand combs through her hair. He lifts her head to look at her, wipes the tears from her cheek, and moves in slowly towards her. His lips land on hers. He picks her up and carries her into his bedroom. He places her gently on the bed. He straddles over her taking at the moment with her, her presents, her smell, her soft skin, and her in general. He loves her so much. He’s waited so long for this to happen. He is the luckiest man in the world to have a woman like Sylvie in his life. He will protect her, love her, and cherish her happiness.

He takes off her shirt and throws it across the room. She takes off his shirt and throws it at the end of the bed. He kisses her lips and makes his way down to her neck, to her chest. He slides his hands slowly up her sides to take off her bralette. She moves her hands to his waist unbuttoning his jeans. She slides them off just until her hands could reach them and used her toes to slide them all the way off. He shoves his tongue inside of her mouth as she does the same to him. He kisses down her neck again, to her chest, to her stomach, he takes his hands, unbuttons her jeans, and slides them off as she lifts her hips into the air. He gently presses his lips against her leg as he works his way up to her waist. He uses his teeth to take off her black panties. He climbs back on top of her, smiles, and kisses her lips. She rolls him to his back. She kisses him from his neck down to his hips and uses her nails to slide off his boxers. She tosses the boxers across the room. She straddles over him. He pushes her hair out of her face. He rolls onto her back, reaches into his nightstand drawer for a condom, opens it, and places it on his penis. He looks at her and lifts up one leg of hers over his shoulder. He slowly inserts his penis inside of her. She gasps, “OH MY GOD!” He smiles at her and continues to thrust harder and faster. She tries strength she has to roll him over. She has him on his back, without his penis coming out of her, she’s in control now. She rides him back and forth. His eyes were locked on her body grinding on him. He lets out a moan, “Oh my god baby! I gotta cum!” She continues to ride him faster. He guides her hips with his hands. He feels the urge to cum, he instantly grabs her hips and thrusts up unloading his cum into the condom. She rolls off of him. They’re both panting. 

“That. was. Amazing.” she says trying to catch her breath. 

He breathes heavily, “That was like off the charts!”

They get up and clean off. They both crawl into bed together, Matt holds her from behind. They peacefully fall asleep smiling in each other's arms. 


	8. The morning after

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt asks Sylvie a question. Someone from Matt's past shows up. Sylvie and Stella pay a visit to someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the Kudos. I am so happy that you all are enjoying the fic. We are just about to hit 2,000 hits. Here is Chapter 8. 
> 
> Happy Reading!!

He wakes up and turns his head to see Sylvie sleeping peacefully next to him. The sunlight is hitting her face just perfectly. He smiles at her. He places a kiss on her forehead. She slightly moves her head and opens her eyes. She sees Matt laying next to her. She smiles at him and moves in closer to him. She kisses him. 

“Morning,” she smiles cheerfully.

He wraps his arms around her, kisses the top of her head, “Good morning beautiful.”

She smiles, “How did you sleep?”

“I slept like a log. How about you?” he asks her.

“Well, I had this crazy dream that some guy cooked me dinner and had a glass of wine waiting for me when I got home. He told me I am always on his mind and he doesn’t want to be with anyone else other than me and he would always choose me.” she smiles looking at him

He chuckles, “Really, I wonder who might have said that? Tell me who it was so I can talk to him to not be hitting on my girl.”

She laughs, “Well that would be a talk I want to witness since it was you who said it. So you would be talking with yourself.”

“I’ll let you know when that happens,” he looks at her laughing. “You hungry? I can make us breakfast?”

She smiles, “Breakfast sounds perfect!” She kisses him.

He gets up out of bed, puts on his boxers and sweatpants. He looks at her smiling, he places a kiss on her cheek. He walks out of the bedroom into the kitchen to make breakfast for them.

She sits up with the comforter covering herself. She remembers that she and Matt had sex last night. She smiles gleefully. She thinks to herself. “ _ He is perfect. All my life I have been searching for this missing a piece of my heart that nobody ever touched until he came along. He is my missing puzzle piece. Now with the pieces being filled, I can finally look at the picture that life has shown me.” _

She gets up, walks over to his dresser, grabs his boxers and his Lieutenants shirt, and puts them on. She runs her hand through her blonde hair. She walks out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to meet Matt. She stands there smiling leaning against the counter. He turns his head noticing that she is wearing his clothes. His heart races. She looks mesmerizing in his eyes. A woman like that looks stunning, no matter what she wears. She can wear his clothes anytime.

He smiles at her, “You know breakfast isn’t going to get done if you’re going to stand there all sexy.”

She giggles, “Well then don’t look at me and focus on making breakfast.”

“It’s hard not to look at you. When you’re off the charts of looking hot,” he smirks. 

She smiles at him as she walks over to the refrigerator to get the orange juice out for breakfast. She pours the orange juice into glasses and sets them on the table. She gets out plates and silverware and places them on the table as well.

He continues to make breakfast. The toast pops from the toaster. The omelets are almost done. When there is a knock on the door.

“You don’t mind finishing up the omelets? Matt asks Sylvie.

“No, not at all.” she shakes her head. 

He kisses her head before going to answer the door. He reaches the door. He opens it.

“You know you don’t have to knock. You do have a key.” Matt tells Severide.

Severide chuckles, “Yeah but I wanted to make sure that you both were decent before I just walked right in. That would’ve been awkward.”

Matt shakes his head smiling at him.

Severide whispers, “So how was it after Stella and I left last night?”

“It was... very good,” Casey whispers back to him.

Severide smiles and nods, “That’s good you both deserve it.”

Sylvie looks out of the kitchen to see Severide standing there talking to Matt.

“Severide, are you hungry? We are having omelets for breakfast.” Sylvie offers

Severide nods, “Nah I don’t want to be intruding. Stella is waiting for me anyhow.”

Sylvie yells from the kitchen, “You left my best friend sitting outside? Go get her and bring her inside. You guys can have breakfast with us.”   
“Yes, mother!” Severide says jokingly.

Severide smiles at Casey, “Good job my friend.” He places his hand on Casey’s shoulder. “So are you guys together, since she stayed the night here with you and she’s wearing your clothes?”

“We haven’t talked about it other than just our feelings for each other.” He explains

Severide nods in agreement.

“Kelly Severide I don’t hear the door opening,” Sylvie says sternly.

Matt chuckles at them. “You better go get Stella before she chases you out the door with a spatula.”

Severide laughs, “She wouldn’t. Would she?” he says with a straight face. 

“In all honesty, I don’t know if she would, but I wouldn’t put it past her to at least attempt,” he assures him. 

“Alright, I’m going! I would like ham in my omelet.” Severide suggests

“Okay,” Sylvie responds.

Severide leaves to get Stella from the car. Matt walks into the kitchen to see the woman he loves standing at his stove making breakfast. He smiles at her as she is wearing his boxers and his t-shirt. He captures the image in his mind. He walks over behind her, wraps his muscular arms around her waist. He kisses her neck and whispers in her ear.

“Have I told you that you look absolutely beautiful today?” 

She smiles and turns around, “You have this morning when we were lying in bed naked together.”

“Well, I am gonna say it again. You look so fucken sexy,” he whispers to her. He kisses her lips before Severide and Stella walk in.

“Do you want me to finish up breakfast while you go change?” He offers

“Nope. I am comfortable. I’ll change after breakfast. Besides, if you know that I am changing you would follow me into the bedroom and we’ll never come out.” she smirks at him

He smiles back at her, “Yeah you’re right! Hey, I have a serious question for you?”

She looks at him concerned, “Yeah, what’s up?”

He smiles at her, “I just can’t wait to ask you, but um… will you be my girlfriend?”

She smiles brightly at him, “Really? Yes! Yes! I would love to!”

She kisses him and hugs him.

Severide and Stella walk in on them laughing.

“What’s going on here?” Stella questions

“Matt just asked me to be his girlfriend!” Sylvie tells her smiling 

“No freakin way! How ironic is that both of our boys asked us to be their girlfriends on the same day?” Stella says with overjoy.

Sylvie looks at both guys, “Did you two plan this?” she asks pointing her finger at them

They shake their heads. “No, we didn’t. I’ve been with you all morning so I would have known.” Matt reminds her

“Yeah, and I have been with Stella. This is the first for us to see each other since last night.” Severide explains.

Kelly, Stella, Sylvie, and Matt sat down to have breakfast. Once they were finished, there was a knock at the door.

“I wonder who that could be?” Severide questions.

Matt gets up to answer the door. He opens it. He looks perplexed at what he sees right in front of him.

“Gabby?” 

“Matt! I-I want to come home,” Gabby says nervously. “I’m so sorry for everything. I shouldn’t have left as I did,”

“Gabby I told you before you left, I was letting go and that I was not going to wait for you to come back. I have moved on.” He reminds her

He looks back at everyone sitting at the table. He’s not embarrassed about what is happening. He just hopes this isn’t something that causes some form of friction between him and Sylvie since they are together. 

Gabby notices Severide, Brett, and a new girl that she doesn’t know sitting at the table. She also notices Brett wearing Matt’s clothes. 

“I get it. You moved on to my old former partner on 61. You were going after her before I even left town, Matt!” she exclaims

“That’s enough, Gabby. You are not going to show up on my doorstep after not talking to anybody for almost a year and start arguing with everyone here. You decided to leave. You made that choice, all by yourself. I think you should leave. Good-bye Gabby.” he says pissed off.

He closes the door. He looks back at everyone sitting there. He’s embarrassed that they all had witnessed that argument with her. He walks into the kitchen, sits down, he lets out his breath. 

“I’m sorry you guys had to see that.” he gestures his hand towards the door. 

“Dude you don’t have anything to be sorry about. She was the one who was in the wrong. She knew what she was getting herself into when she left. She did this because she wanted to know if you were sticking to your words.” Severide explains to him

“Yeah, Severide is right. I’m sorry that we as girls just like testing you boys.” Stella adds

Matt looks over at Sylvie who has been quiet this whole time.

He puts his hand on top of hers, “ Are you okay?” with his brow furrowed.

She looks up at him, smiles, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“We’ll leave you two alone to talk. Come on Stella we can go to my room!” Severide suggests

“Yeah, we’ll keep it down.” she winks at them as they walk away.

Sylvie and Matt chuckle together.

“Are you sure okay?” he asks her again.

She looks at him wholeheartedly. “Matt, do you remember what you said last night? The “I’ll choose you over and over, without a pause, without a doubt, in a heartbeat. I will always choose you.”

He nods in agreement, “Yeah I remember.”

“I believed you. I didn’t ask you to choose me, you made that choice. This shows that you are devoted to us, this relationship. I’m proud of you. I’m sorry you are going through this all over again.”

“Sylvie, I’m not worried about this little bump in the road with Gabby. She is in my past. I left my past behind me. I want to look forward to the future. Right now what I see is pretty damn good!”

She smiles at him, “Oh yeah what’s that?”

He looks at her, he holds her hands into his. “You!”

She smiles and leans in to kiss him.

“How about you go take a shower and get dressed and I will clean up the kitchen,” Matt recommends

“Okay,” she answers

She heads off to his room. She turns on the water for the shower. She hops in and starts singing. She washes her hair and her body. She rises herself off. She turns off the water, grabs a towel, and wraps it around her. She opens the shower curtain. She steps out and dries herself off. She puts her clothes on. As she is finished getting ready, she hears Matt talking. “Is he talking to himself?” she wonders. She pokes her head out of the bedroom and listens. He is on the phone. She stands there eavesdropping. 

_ “No, Gabby I don’t care what you have to say. You decided to leave. Like I have already told you, I have moved on. I am happy with my life. Quit making it sound like I kicked you out, or forced you to leave.” _

_ “Seriously? I gave you options. You still walked out. You had already made your decision when you kissed him outside of Molly’s the night of Mills’ going away party.” _

_ “Yes, Severide, Brett, and I watched you from the door of Molly’s running down the street holding hands with Mills. Nobody was going to stop you. You had your mind made up before anybody could talk you out of it.” _

_ “No, you are not coming back. I don’t want you here. I had closure with you when you left. Please, go back to North Carolina with Mills!” _

He hangs up the phone. He tosses it on the couch. He sits down on the coffee table.

“You alright bro?” Severide walks out of his room

“You heard?” Casey questions

“Yeah. She’s still begging to come back?” 

“Ugh! She is driving me fucken crazy! She’s acting like I never gave her options, which is all bullshit.” he shakes his head, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.

“Well let me ask you this? Are you over Gabby, for real?” Severide asks

“Yes! I have been over her since she left. Like I told Gabby, my closure with her was the day she walked out of this house and never looked back.” Casey reminds him.

“Okay then, ignore her calls, ignore her text messages. You can’t change someone who doesn’t see an issue in their actions. Your best bet is to just ignore it and enjoy what you have right in front of you.” Severide says honestly

“Sylvie.” he smiles just thinking about her

“Yeah, Brett. She’s a keeper for you, dude. She is also a lot tougher than you think. Besides she just went through almost the same situation with her ex-fiance about 2 months ago or something, didn’t she? Ask her how she handled it?” Severide suggests

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Sylvie backs away from the door she sits on the bed, putting in her earrings, acting like she didn’t just hear everything. Matt walks in seeing her sitting on his bed. 

“Hey. I was just coming in to check on you, everything okay?” he says as he walks over to her. 

She has her head tilted from putting in her earrings. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just finished getting ready.” she smiles at him.

He sits on the bed next to her, “So… um… Gabby called me when you were in the shower.” he says softly.

“Oh? What did she want?” she says concerned

“The same thing when she showed up here this morning. Just to argue. I--I don’t know what else to say to her for her to understand.” he quivers his lips in frustration.

“Hmm…” she bites her lip thinking. “Did she say where she was staying?” she asks curiously

“Um… I think at a hotel or something. I don’t know I didn’t listen to her when she mentioned it.” he answers. “Why?”

“No reason.” She gets up and grabs her purse. “You take a shower, I’ll handle Gabby,” she demands

“Sylvie, No you don’t have to fight my battles for me,” he says as he tries stopping her.

“Matthew Casey! Do as I say. I will be right back.” she says sternly. She turns around and walks out of the bedroom.

His eyes open widely. Did she just mom me right now? Alright, now that is hot! There was nothing he could say to stop her from going and throwing daggers at Gabby. He just wanted advice, but clearly, things made a turn. Maybe Sylvie would have a better outcome than he did. God, she is amazing! A woman like that standing up for his battles, even though he knows he can handle it. 

Sylvie walks out of the house. Stella is a step ahead of her. They both walk to the vehicle and head to the hotel where Gabby is staying at.

“What are you even going to say to her?” Stella asks

“I--I don’t know. I thought I would have it figured out by the time I got here,” she responds

“Well… um, good luck!” Stella jokes

Sylvie gets out of the vehicle, walks into the hotel, to the reception desk.

“Hi, I’m looking for my friend. She is staying in one of your rooms. Gabby Dawson.” she says sweetly

“Yes, room 234.” the teller says

“Oh, thank you so much,” she says appreciatively.

She heads to the elevator and pushes the button for the second floor. She reaches the second floor. She searches for room 234. She finally finds the room. She knocks on the door and waits. A shirtless Italian man opens the door. She looks beyond him, to see Gabby standing there with a sheet wrapped around her.

“We need to talk!” she exclaims as she pushes through the guy.

“No, we do not, Brett” Gabby declines 

“Yes, we do! What the hell is wrong with you Gabby? You show up on Matt’s doorstep this morning begging and pleading for him to take you back and now you’re jumping in bed with another guy? You need to leave Matt alone and you need to move on.” Sylvie demands.

“What does it look like I am doing? I’m moving on.” Gabby says smiling

“No, it doesn’t. You’re acting like a fucken teenager who isn’t getting her way. You throw this pity party for yourself and everyone gives into it because they don’t want to hear you whine. I don’t put up with whining. You’re an adult START acting like it!” she explains

Gabby looks at her pissed off. But she’s right. “You’re right, Brett. I’m sorry. I should just accept my mistakes and move on. I’ll leave Matt alone if that is what is going to take for you to leave my room.”

“Fine. I’ll leave. Where’s your phone?” Sylvie asks

“Right here why?

Sylvie goes into her phone, deletes Matt’s number from her contacts, and deletes outgoing calls to him, along with messages too.

“There. Good-bye Gabby,” she says as she walks out of the room. 

She reaches the elevator, she walks in, she pushes the button for the main lobby. She breathes heavily, as her hands are shaking from her adrenaline wearing off. The elevator dings for the main lobby. The doors open. She finds Stella standing there waiting for her.

“I thought you might need back up.” Stella shrugs her shoulders

Sylvie laughs, “No I handled it.”

“Alright. You didn’t kill her did you?” Stella asks hesitantly.

Sylvie with a disgusted look on her, “No. Words were exchanged and she agreed to leave Matt alone. Mission accomplished.”

“Good! Now let’s go home.” Stella requests

They walk out of the hotel to the vehicle. They pull up to Matt’s house. They get out and walk inside. They find Matt and Severide on the couch drinking a beer. 

“We’re back!” Stella announces

Matt sets his beer down on the table and rushes over to get a good look over Sylvie. He searches for any cuts, bruising, or any signs of a fight that might have happened.

“What are you doing?” Sylvie questions him

“He’s checking to see if you have any blood on your hands after rushing out of here earlier.” Severide comments

“Yes, but I’m also looking for my girlfriend because the girl who rushed out of here was not her. That was a whole other side of you that I have never seen.” 

She laughs, “Oh come on! I wasn’t that angry. Was I?

They all nod their heads in agreement, “Yes, you were! Badass at it too!” Stella adds

Sylvie smirks, “Okay. Maybe I was a little angry. But it is all good now.”

“What did she say?” Severide asks

“Um… she just apologized and is leaving you alone, after I took her phone and deleted your number from her contact,” she says truthfully

Matt lets out a huge relief, “Thank god! You know I could have done that myself.”

“Yeah, well after hearing what she said this morning, I couldn’t stand how she was acting. So I took care of it,” she says relaxed

“Thank you.” he pulls her in and kisses her.

They walk over to the couch and sit down to watch the Blackhawks game. He holds her tight in his arms, she starts falling asleep on his chest. He thinks to himself as he watches her drift off to sleep.

“ _ She has accepted me for who I am, not for my past. She stood by me through this. She didn’t get scared. She stuck around. Hell, I stayed for her when she got angry. But that was hot anyway. God, I love her! With the short time of us being a couple she sure has surprised me. I wonder what else is stored inside of her. I’d love to learn new things from her every day for the rest of time.” _


	9. It's Official

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brett and Casey inform the Chief of their situation. A call gets Brett an idea that includes everyone in the firehouse to help out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 9. I hope you all enjoy it! So grab that favorite beverage of yours, along with a blanket or where ever you are. ENJOY! :) Leave a Kudos after the chapter

The next day, they show up at the firehouse. It’s their first shift, they start as boyfriend and girlfriend. They know they have to be professionals. Their jobs come first, but first, they need to talk to the chief and let him know. They don’t have to let him know but it’s respectful to loop in the chief on the circumstances. They head to their lockers to get ready for shift. Then they head to Chief Boden’s office. They knock on the door. Boden waves them to come in.

“Chief do you have a second?” Casey asks

He gestures to them to have a seat, “Yeah, what’s going on?”

Casey and Brett look at each other, smile, and look at the Chief, “We know about the rules and regulations about dating in the CFD, but we wanted to let you know that Brett and I are together and that our relationship will not affect our duty to serve the community.” Casey reports

Boden looks at them seriously. He lets out an exhale. He looks up at them with their faces as they go from smiling to scared of what he might say. But he couldn’t take their reaction. He chuckles, “It’s about time! I’m happy for you both. As long as you do your job and duty to serve this community and your relationship isn’t going to affect it. I am okay with it.”

Brett went from scared to relieved, “Oh, Thank you Chief. I thought we were going to get a lecture or something.”

Casey smiles, “Yeah, we won’t let you down, Chief.”

“Good! Morning Briefing is in just a few minutes. I will see you all there.” 

Brett and Casey stand up and walk out the door into the bullpen.

Brett lets out an exhale, “Oh my god that went opposite than I had imagined.”

Casey chuckles, “Really? I knew he would be okay with it.”

She stops dead in her tracks, squints her eyes at him, “How did you know that?”

Casey stops and turns around to her. He looks innocent towards her, he gestures his hands out to her arms rubbing them up and down, “Don’t get mad at me, pretty please! But I had already told him the other night, while you were sleeping.” 

“You did what?” she says surprisingly

He bites his bottom lip, “I-I told him already.”

She nods in agreement. She laughs at him, “So did I. When you were taking a shower yesterday afternoon.”

They both laugh.

“That’s funny. Us telling the chief about our relationship.” Casey expresses.

The alarm goes off before the morning briefing,  _ Ambulance 61, Truck 81, Squad 3, Engine 51, Battalion 25 house fire. _

“That’s us!” Brett quickly kisses his cheek before rushing off to the rig.

“Let’s kick some Chicago ass, Sylvie Brett!” he smiles at her.

Everyone reaches their rig. Brett meets Foster at the rig. They hop in and drove off.

“What’s that huge ass grin on your face partner?” Foster questions her.

“What huge ass grin? Is it that noticeable?” Brett asks.

Foster laughs, “Yeah! What happened?”

“Casey and I are officially together,” she says smiling.

Foster’s surprise reaction is priceless, “Shut-up! When did this happen?”

“It happened after last shift,” Brett tells her

“Girl, I am so happy for you! You guys deserve each other!” Foster exclaims

They reach the scene to find a church engulfed in flames. The groom runs out of the church coughing. Casey reaches him to take him to the paramedics, but he refuses.

“Where is she? I need to go check!” he asks, panicking as his best man is holding him back from going inside. 

“Where is who?” Casey asks him

“My bride-to-be, the pastor, and the maid of honor.” He yells

“What’s your name?” Casey asks

“David. David Franklin,” he responds

“David, I’m Lieutenant Casey. Go to the paramedics, we will get them.” Casey assures him.

He doesn’t listen and rushes into the burning house as soon as Lt. Casey turns his back. 

“ _ Chief, the house is a fully involved structure fire. Multiple victims inside.” _ Casey announces through his radio.

_ “51, we need lines in there now.” _ Chief Boden demands through his radio.

Mouch directs the crowd back away from the house fire. As Kidd and Herrman follow Casey inside to search for the victims.

“Fire Department Call out” Casey yells through his air mask

Casey notices the groom crawling around on the floor searching for his bride. 

“She’s in there!” David yells

“Don’t talk, let’s go!” Casey exclaims

Casey takes David, Kidd, and Herrman into the back corner room where the bride, the pastor, and the maid of honor are at. 

“Is this everyone?” Casey asks the pastor.

“Uh-huh.” the paster answers as he is coughing from the smoke filling the room.

Casey takes his halligan and breaks the window. But he can’t seem to get out due to there being security bars on the windows. 

Casey radios the chief on his status of what is going on inside. 

“ _ Chief, the hallway is fully engulfed! We’re trapped in the northwest corner bedroom.” _

_ “Copy that Casey, Hold on!” Chief responds _

Severide approaches the chief.

“We got a problem, Chief. There are security bars on every single window.” Severide relays

“Pry them off!” Chief commands

“Copy! Cruz. Capp. Tony. Let’s go!” Severide orders

They grab the ladders and head for the northwest side of the house where Casey is at. Severide and Cruz use their halligans to pry the security bars off. Cruz and Severide lower the bars to Capp and Tony. Capp and Tony grab the backboard for the victims to get out. Casey, Kidd, and Herrman made it out safe. 

Brett and Foster are checking on David who took in a lot of smoke.

“I’m assuming you’re the bride-to-be?” Brett asks

“Yeah, Rebecca. Is David going to be okay,” she asks worriedly.

“He took in a lot of smoke. We are taking him to Chicago Med. You can ride with us if you would like?” Brett offers.

“Yeah.” 

* * *

They arrive at Chicago Med. Dr. Halstead is waiting for them.

“What do we got?” Dr. Halstead asks

“Smoke inhalation. O2 stats are fine, but he’s coughing black sputum and getting more horse.” Brett answers

“How are you feeling, sir?” Dr. Halstead asks David

“Like I’ve smoked a couple of packs of cigarettes,” David answers horsley.

Rebecca panics, “Is he going to be okay?”

“Well, we don’t have to intubate him yet. But we gotta draw up some blood and check his numbers before we make any decisions.” Dr. Halstead explains to Rebecca.

Rebecca turns towards him, worriedly, “How soon can he get out?”

He calmly tells her, “He’s being admitted, one step at a time, okay?”

Brett walks over to Rebecca. She smiles, “Hang in there.” 

  
  


Foster and Brett got back to the firehouse.

Brett gasps, “Oh my god! I have an idea!” 

“What’s that?” Foster asks 

“What if we throw David and Rebecca a wedding at the firehouse?” Brett suggests.

Foster smiles, “I love that idea! Do you think the Chief will go for it?”

“I don’t know. Let’s go ask him!” she grabs Foster’s hand and drags her to the Chief’s office. 

Foster knocks on his door, “Chief do you have a minute, Brett has a really good idea.”

“Yeah, What is it?” Chief asks as he puts his hands on his waist.

“Okay the bride and groom, Becca and David? Well, I talked to her at the hospital and her parents are flying back to Atlanta tomorrow at noon.” Brett explains to him

“Yeah, and Becca’s father works two jobs and can’t afford to lose either of them,” Foster adds.

Brett says sincerely, “The family poured all their money into that wedding. They are keeping David overnight at Chicago Med for observation, Discharge is at 7 am. So I was thinking we could host the wedding here? First thing in the morning!”

Boden’s brows furrow, “Here?”

Brett smiles, “At the firehouse.”

Foster adds, “It would be a simple thing, we could get flowers donated, put folding chairs on the apparatus floor. 

“That sounds like a great idea!” he smiles at them

“Great, Thanks chief!” Brett exclaims

Foster and Brett rush to the common room where everyone is at. Brett has a clipboard and pencil in her hand. 

“Okay, people we have a lot of work to do and not enough time. We’re doing this wedding tomorrow, so let’s get to it,” Brett announces “Foster, I put us in charge of flowers.”

“We can handle that!” Foster gives her a thumbs up.

“Okay the family’s pastor can’t be there, we need a preacher who can perform the ceremony.” 

“Chaplain Orlovsky will jump at the chance. I’ll call him.” Herrman offers

“Great! And we need music, of course, a wedding march. And some for the reception.” she says as she purses her lips together.

“Just an iPod right?” Severide suggests

She half-smiles at him, “Um, no, nice try. It’s a wedding, not a slumber party. I think you can do better than that.”

Casey chuckles.

Capp sits up straight, with his eyes wide open, “Back in high school, I was apart of a cappella group, if that helps?” 

Severide stops, looks at him with a straight face, “Are you serious?”

Stella smacks him, “Be nice.”

“Yeah, I’m serious!” Capp exclaims He stands up and sings for everyone to hear.

“Alright, Capp let’s just keep that in our back pocket. We’ll come up with something, alright.” Severide chuckles

“Great Squad is on that. Alright, people let’s get to it!” Brett proclaims.

She walks off into the hallway. Matt follows her. He grabs her hand and pulls her into the corner of the firehouse.

“You’re getting into this wedding stuff aren’t you?” he smiles at her.

She smiles, “Yeah, weddings are so much fun!” 

The bells go off  _ Ambulance 61 person in distress. _

“I’m sorry, I gotta run!” she quickly kisses his cheek and runs to the rig.

She and Foster head off to the scene. They reach the house. A woman is standing outside panicking. The police show up as they are getting the jump bag and the chair.

“I heard screaming, they’re inside.” the frightened woman says

“You two stay there until we give you the all-clear.” the officer demands.

The officers kicked in the door. “Paramedics, come quick,” the officer yells from inside the house.

Brett and Foster rush up the stairs into the bedroom. Where they find a heavy guy laying on top of a woman, passed out. They are both naked.

“BP is 60 over 40. Let’s get an IV going.” Brett declares.

“Got it!” Foster replies

The guy starts waking up. “Oh look he’s responding to the fluids,” She radios to main “ _ 61 to main, we need manpower to assist _ .”

Foster and Brett load the patient into the back of ambo and take him to Chicago Med. They drop the patient off and got supplies to restock the ambo.

“Hey Dr. Halstead, How’s David Franklin from the house fire this morning?” she asks concerned.

He looks concerned “His carbon monoxide levels, were very high, but they’re coming down with oxygen.

“You still expect to release him in the morning?” she asks hopefully.

“I hope so, all he keeps talking about is the wedding and the bride-to-be,” he says with high hopes

Dr. Halstead leaves to go check on his patients.

“Oh, see, a man runs into a burning building, to save the woman he loves. That’s romance,” she says cheerfully.

“Aww. Aren’t you adorable? You’re so full of romance now that you and Casey are together.” Foster adds

“Huh? I guess so. Or maybe love is just in the air.” Brett adds. “Do you want to hit up the florist shop on our way back to the house?” 

“I have a better idea,” Foster suggests

They get back to the firehouse, with the back of the ambo filled with flowers from a funeral. Truck 81 helps unload ambo.

“Honestly, I don’t know if I am doing this whole arranging thing right with these flowers.” Mouch states

“Hmm…. Why don’t you worry about taking the condolences cards out?” Foster recommends

“I can do that!” Mouch exclaims.

Everyone sets up the apparatus floor for the wedding. The chairs are put up. The flowers are set up along the aisle and at the front where the bride and groom will be. 

Meanwhile inside, Cruz, Severide, and Kidd are begging Brett to sing.

“I’m begging you, please! It’s zero hours. And we have run out of options.” Cruz begs to fold his hands to her.

“Yeah come on Brett! We’ve heard you sing in Casey’s shower the other day.” Kidd says straightforward.

Severide adds, “We did. And you are good! Please?” 

“If you don’t do this, consider the alternative,” Cruz gestures his hand out the window to Capp who is practicing to sing on the apparatus floor.

“Okay, I see your point.” she rolls her eyes “Alright I’ll do it! But I can’t do it alone, I need some sort of accompaniment.”

Severide and Kidd look at each other, “We know of someone! We’re on it!”

The bride and groom's family and friends show up for the wedding. They find their seats. 

Brett and Casey head up to the front where the groom, the wedding party, and Chaplain Orlovsky are standing at. Sylvie sings for the bride to walk down the aisle. Matt plays the guitar as her accompaniment. He smiles at her. He loves her singing voice. The bride walks down the aisle with her father. He hands her off to the groom. Chaplain Orlovsky pronounces them as husband and wife. 

Casey looks at her, he wants to kiss her so badly. But he remembers that they are still on shift. He wishes the last thirty minutes of the shift flies by so he can kiss her. Twenty-four hours for him not kissing her perfect lips is driving him nuts. 

Shift ends Sylvie walks out of the firehouse with Stella talking about the wedding and how perfect it was. Kelly and Matt run out of the firehouse to catch up with him. Matt grabs Sylvie’s hand, spins her back towards him and dips her down, with his hand behind her back, and kisses her lips. He pulls away from her.

“What was that for?” she asks

“I’ve waited a whole twenty-four hours to kiss you. I’ve just missed it.” he smiles at her

“Alright, you two love birds!” Kelly interrupts. 

He looks into her eyes. He loves her so much. He wants to tell her, but he’s afraid that it might be too early to say “ _ I love you” _ . They have only been dating for a couple of days. But he will just keep the “I love you” to himself for right now. He will tell her eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Someday, someone will walk into your life and make you realize why it never worked with anyone else."


	10. Slamigan/Turn-out Gear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey! We should do a getaway this weekend with our boyfriends” Stella suggests  
> Sylvie gasps, “Oh yes! I’ve heard Cedar Lake is gorgeous. My old partner from firehouse 87, Rafferty said that the camping site is to die for. I bought a tent a few years back, before moving to Chicago, when I was supposed to go camping with an old friend but they had backed out and now it’s just sitting in my linen closet.” Sylvie suggests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this Idea came about a couple of months ago on a Twitter post and I was encouraged to start writing fanfics then. This was just spitballing and finally, now it has become a story. So I give a shout-out to @Cigar_Chat and @freefalling8644 on Twitter for the comments we made jokingly about this. Love you girls.  
> I hope you all enjoy this just as much as I did writing it.

Stella catches up with Sylvie as they walk into the firehouse off the apparatus floor. They’re talking and planning a weekend getaway with their boyfriends. But they want to make it a surprise for them.

“Hey! We should do a getaway this weekend with our boyfriends” Stella suggests

Sylvie gasps, “Oh yes! I’ve heard Cedar Lake is gorgeous. My old partner from firehouse 87, Rafferty said that the camping site is to die for. I bought a tent a few years back, before moving to Chicago, when I was supposed to go camping with an old friend but they had backed out and now it’s just sitting in my linen closet.” Sylvie suggests

Stella’s jaw drops, “Yes! That would be perfect! You and I will sit by the lake sunbathing, the boys can go out fishing. Plus I think Severide might borrow his father’s boat, so we have that!”

“I can’t wait to tell Matt!” Sylvie says impatiently.

They are standing in the doorway of the common room talking as Severide and Casey are sitting at the round table playing cards while watching Crus mess around with the firehouse tools.

“NO!” Stella raises her voice at Brett.

Her eyes open wide, scared. She turns her head looking at her boyfriend’s, trying to be discreet. She then turns her head back to Stella. “What?”

Stella whispers, “This has to be a surprise! It’s Kelly’s birthday this weekend and I just don’t know what to get him, on short notice. We’ve only been dating just a short time so, this is all I’ve got, for now.”

“Well, we got to loop in Casey so he is aware of what is going on. I just hate to ambush him after shift.” Sylvie says sympathetically.

She puts her arms around her shoulders as they walk into the common room to the coffee pot, “Girl, relationships are all about surprises. I mean come on, the guys have more surprises for us than we do for them.”

Sylvie leans in closing the space between them, so the words don’t get out, whispering, “Like wh--” she stops in mid-sentence as they reach the coffee pot so Severide and Casey can’t hear them.

Severide and Casey look at each other confused. 

Severide lean into Casey whispering, “What are those two up to now?”

Casey whispers back, “I have no idea but whatever it is, it has something to do with us.”

Severide nods. Both Casey and Severide’s eyes move towards Herrmann, Otis, and Mouch walking in.

Mouch looks confused, “Cruz, Yeah you know how Connie feels about fire tools inside the house.”

“It’ll only take a minute. I wanna connect a sledgehammer to a halligan bar, so one guy can set the halligan into a door jam, and bang it into place all by himself.” Cruz reassures them. 

Otis calmly states, “Yeah, but those two things together are like twenty-two pounds”

Cruz says proudly of his idea, “Yeah, but It’s a tool for real men.”

“I gotta say, it doesn’t seem like it would work,” Mouch says shutting down the idea.

Herrman adds, “And if it did, wouldn’t somebody have invented it by now?”

“Hey, no one invented the computer until Bill Gates came along.” Cruz reminds them.

Otis looked a Cruz confused, “Bill Gates didn’t… Anyway, that thing is hardly a computer.”

“Nope, it isn’t.” Cruz holds up the sledgehammer and the halligan together proudly. “It’s a Slamigan.”

Herrmann blinks his eyes, leans in, understanding what Cruz just said, “Say that again. What--What are you calling this thing?”

Cruz repeats himself, “The Slamigan.”

Herrmann smiles looking towards Mouch and Otis, “We’re going to be rich.”

Cruz furrows his brows at Herrmann, “Who’s “we”?”

Otis calmly states, “Yeah, and when did “we” decide this was going to be a good idea?”

Herrman proudly gestures his hand toward Cruz, “When he named it The Slamigan.” 

Otis scratches the back of his neck, trying to understand what happens with it altogether. “So what exactly does “The Slamigan” do?

Cruz grabs the tools and demonstrates. The halligan goes flying across the common room floor. Mouch, Herrmann, and Otis’s eyes pop out in astonishment. 

Otis sneered, “Slamigan indeed.”

Mouch reminds Cruz, “It’s alright if at first, you don’t succeed…”

Herrman interrupts with a grin, “I know. I know. This is gonna work. You just need to add a real hinge on and you know, a steel plate.”

Cruz looks at the halligan and sledgehammer contemplating what he can do to make it work, “Yeah, I guess I could get the torch out and just braze something together real quick.”

Stella and Brett are drinking their coffee. Brett walks up to stand next to Otis.

Brett submits her opinion, “No, a brazed joint won’t be strong enough. You wanna MIG weld it.” 

They all turn towards her baffled, including Severide and Casey as they look up at her remark.

Brett smiles at them, “What? I grew up on a farm. When the cultivator threw a shank, who do you think had to fix it?”

Casey looks up at Brett astonished. He thinks to himself _Damn! This girl knows her stuff about welding and she knows how to weld. She amazes me every time. Every day I am learning something new from her. She’s kicking my ass here. I need to impress myself to her!_

“Do you think you can help me weld this thing together, Brett?” Cruz asks.

“Yeah! I’d love to! You get the parts you need and I will go put my turn-out gear on.” She runs off to the turn-out room.

* * *

She gets her turn-out gear on. She starts welding the metal pieces together. Casey comes out watching her, just as everyone else is standing around the rigs watching and waiting for the results. He has never seen her in her turn-out gear. He thinks to himself _Damn my girl looks hot in her turn-out gear!_

She finishes up that last section of the weld. She hands the Slamigan off to Cruz for him to test it out.

She takes off the welding helmet, her hair a hot mess. “Let it cool off first before testing it,” she suggests to Cruz. 

“Nah, it’s good,” he says

“That weld is a 70,000 psi tensile strength, so it won’t break,” she adds

Cruz tests it out. The sledgehammer slips and hits Cruz’s hand.

“Are you okay Cruz?” Brett asks worriedly.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replies.

She looks at it, studying what adjustments need to be made.

“I know what needs to be adjusted!” 

She takes the Slamigan out of Cruz’s hand and made the adjustments.

Casey stands next to Squads rig. Severide walks up behind him with two cigars.

“This looks like it might take a while.” He holds up the cigars to Casey. “Let’s grab some lawn chairs and watch the entertainment of this concoction.”

Casey chuckles, “Yeah, let’s do it.”

Hours later, she made progress, and finally, it is finished. Brett hands the Slamigan off to Cruz to test it out again. 

He walks over to the test door. He jams the halligan into the door, slams the sledgehammer into it, and pry open the door.

Herrmann, Mouch, Otis, and Brett all cheer with Cruz. Brett bounces up and down! She runs to hug Cruz!

Herrmann jabbers on controlled environment talk. 

“Would you pipe it down and let Cruz enjoy his moment.” Brett quickly cuts off Herrmann rambling.

“Wow, okay no need to get snippy,” Herrmann says jokingly. 

Cruz raises the tool above his head yelling, “The Slamigan!”

Severide and Casey sat there chuckling at them. Casey gets up and walks over to Brett smiling like a goofball.

“Lieutenant,” she says laughing. 

He smiles as he leans into her ear whispering, “You look so damn hot in your turn-out gear.”

She smiles as her eyes widen and tilt her head towards the turn-out room. She takes ahold of his hand and leads him. 

They get in the turn-out room, she smiles, “I’m reporting for duty Lieutenant Casey,” she winks at him.

He chuckles arching his head back, he brings it back looking at her, he steps forward towards her, closing the space between them, kissing her neck.

She throws her head back breathing heavily with a soft moan. 

The alarm sounds _Squad 3, structure fire_

Casey and Brett continue to make out in the turn-out room. He takes off her jacket revealing her suspenders, he moans softly. He very much enjoys seeing her in her gear. He continues to kiss her. He pulls away for a moment with an idea he had. “Hang on. I have an idea. Don’t move.”

He walks away, he opens the door slowly, checking to make sure that he isn’t being seen by anyone. He walks across the apparatus floor to Truck 81 to grab his helmet. He rushes back into the turn-out room. Before he reaches the door, he is stopped by Otis.

“Hey, Lieutenant where are you going with your helmet?” Otis questions him.

Casey looks dumbfounded, “Oh, um… I accidentally grabbed the wrong helmet.”

“Oh, okay. Cruz’s Slamigan looked pretty cool don’t you think?”

“Yeah, It was pretty cool! That equipment will come in handy in any fire situation.” 

“Yeah, Well anyway, cya later Lieutenant.” Otis waves him off, walking back inside the house.

Leaving nobody on the app floor.

Casey walks back into the turn-out room, he whispers, “Sylvie.”

She crawls out from behind the other turn-out jackets, whispering back, “Yeah, I heard Otis’s voice. I just didn’t wanna get caught in here half undressed.”

  
He smiles at her. He takes off his shirt and puts his helmet on. 

She looks at him in awe. She thinks to herself _Damn my man is hot! No shirt. Fire helmet. This is perfect._

“Come on Lieutenant, come be the Lieutenant on my ship,” she smiles whispering.

He closes the space between them, kissing her passionately. They continue to make love in the turn-out room.

Thirty minutes pass by when they hear Squad pull into the bay. They stop immediately, grabbing their clothes to put back on themselves. They hide behind the jackets, panting. Once there was silence, they slowly walk out trying not to get noticed by anyone. Casey walks over to this rig to put his helmet back. Brett walks into the house behind Squad. Casey follows.

“Cruz, did you use the Slamigan on that call?” Brett asks.

He smiles setting the equipment on the table in front of Herrman, Mouch, and Otis. “The Slamigan has been tested in a real-life situation. A trial by fire, you may say.”

Herrmann sits up straight, “And?”

Cruz smiles, “It works!” 

“Oh Cruz that is awesome! I’m so proud of you!” Brett congratulates him.

Stella walks past the common room, noticing Brett in there. She grabs Brett’s hand from behind pulling her to the tower.

“Where have you been? I have been looking all over for you,” she panics

“I’ve been around. Maybe you just missed me or something, “ Brett grins. “What’s up? She asks concerned

“I made those reservations for this weekend.” 

“Oh yes! So we are definitely on for this weekend,” Brett excitedly jumps up and down.

“Shhhhh…”

“Oops, sorry!”

“Okay, shift is almost over with, so you go tell Casey to make sure his weekend bag is packed and we will pick him and Severide up around three.” Stella declares.

She smiles, “I’m on it!”

They part ways, Brett goes to find Casey and Stella goes to find Severide.

Brett reaches Casey’s quarters, he’s on the phone so she waits patiently outside until he is finished. 

He hangs up the phone and turns around to find Brett’s back leaning up against the glass. He gently opens the door without her noticing, he takes a hold of her hand and drags her into his office.

She gasps, getting huge butterflies in her stomach. 

He pulls her in wrapping his arms around her waist, kissing her lips.

She pulls away smiling, “As much as I love kissing you, but I have to tell you something.”

He looks at her confused, “What’s that?”

“Once shift is over with, I am gonna need you to go home and pack a bag for the weekend.”

With an amused look, “What’s the special occasion?”

“Severide’s Birthday. Stella wanted to do something for him and with it being short notice of planning something crazy, we decided to go to Cedar Lake,” she confesses. “Oh crap! I wasn’t supposed to tell you all of that! You can not tell Stella that I told you.”

He chuckles, “Oh that’s what you two were talking about. My lips are sealed. Anything specific to pack.”

“Yeah pack like you’re going camping. I have a brand new tent that needs to be put to use and we’re picking the two of you up around three” she adds.

“We’ll be ready. Or at least I will be.” he smiles at her kissing her on the top of her head.

Three in the afternoon rolls around. Stella and Brett arrive at Severides picking up the boys. They put their luggage in the vehicle and drove about forty-five mins to Cedar Lake. They reach their destination. They all enjoy the weekend getaway celebrating Severides birthday. 


	11. Promotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He doesn’t believe that he is soon to be Captain now. It seems so surreal. But he is proud of himself as well. If this is the start of everything becoming great in his life, he is lucky to share it with the woman he loves. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Sometimes when things are falling apart they may actually be falling into place."- Anonymous

They are walking up the apron of the firehouse holding hands, smiling, talking about the mini getaway they just had. 

Brett looks over at a parked buggy that they are walking up beside, “Who’s buggy is that?”

Herrmann walks up beside them, “Ah, Boden is out for the first half of shift. We got some chief name, Mullins.”

“Do you know him?” Casey asks.

“Yeah, I heard he is a bear,” Herrmann confirms

They continue to walk inside. They get their things settled into their lockers and head to the briefing room for the morning meeting. 

“Is that everyone?” Chief Mullins asks as he looks around the room. “Alright, I am only here at 51 for half of a shift and I’ve got nothing but respect for Wallace Boden. So let’s power through the next few hours and get you back in his capable hands. Sound good?” He announces

Everyone around the room mumbles answering him, “Yes, sir.”

“Okay, good! Assignments. Let’s empty all the compartments on the rigs. We’ll clean, check, and do maintenance on all the equipment and you can scrub and wax the inside shelving. Once that is all complete--”

Everyone looks around each other dreading the work they are about to do.

“Is there a problem?” Mullins questions

“No, Chief. It’s just Tuesdays we usually only do the side compartments. And like you said, it’s only half a shift.” Casey adds

Mullins blinks quickly at the response he was given. “What’s your name Lieutenant?

“Matt Casey, sir,” he answers.

“Once that’s complete let’s get the app floor swept and mopped if you don’t mind?”

Casey nods in agreement, “Consider it done, Chief.”

“Dismissed.”

Everyone stands up heading out to the app floor to their rigs.

“Sorry, guys,” Casey says apologetically.

Kidd smiles, “It’s fine. It’s half of a shift. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Herrmann’s phone vibrates. He looks at it with disappointment. “Hey, guys, I texted my buddy who served under Mullins over at 78.”

“Yeah? What did he say?” Otis asks concerned.

He reads the message out loud. “That man has killed more careers in the CFD than actual fires.”

“Well, let’s knuckle down and not give him any reason to look our way.” Casey insists.

Kidd grabs the equipment from the compartment and toss’s it on the floor, “Copy that Lieutenant!”

  
The alarm goes off  _ Ambulance 61, bicycle accident. _

* * *

Foster and Brett arrive on the scene. They rush to the back of the ambo to get the gurney, backboard, and jump bag. They see a guy standing in front of his vehicle repeating his words over and over again.

“Oh, god. Oh, god.” He turns around to show them a six-year-old girl laying in the middle of the street.

“It’s like she came out of nowhere. I didn’t see her. I looked down for one second.” the driver explains in a panic

Brett walks over to her assessing the little girl. “Hi, honey. What’s your name?”

The little girl sits up slowly. She softly replies, “Ella.”

“Ella? I love that name. My name is Sylvie and this is Emily. We’re here to help. Can you tell me what hurts?” Brett asks cautiously.

“Just my wrist,” Ella responds

The driver continues to panic, “Is he going to be okay?”

“Ella we’re going to need you to lie down for us. We’re going to slide this backboard underneath you.” Foster instructs.

Behind them, the driver brings his hand to his chest and starts groaning. 

“I think something is wrong with him,” Ella states as she lies there on the backboard.

Brett and Foster turn their heads to find the driver falling to his knees and then collapsing on the pavement.

Brett runs over to check for a pulse. “No pulse.” Brett radios into main as she ran to the ambo for the cardiac monitor  _ this is 61 requesting a backup ambulance for a possible cardiac arrest. _

_ Copy that, 61. _

Foster rushes over to start compressions on the driver. Brett reaches over to Foster with the cardiac monitor and starts hooking him up to shock him to get his heart started. As they get his heart going again. He started breathing heavily. He sat up quickly.

“I gotta get out of here. I gotta get somewhere,” he demands

Brett tries to calm the driver down, “Sir, you’re not going anywhere. You lost consciousness. We need to get you to a hospital.”  _ Dispatch, where is that second ambo? _ Brett radios again.

_ Had a mix-up, 61 Ten minutes out. I’ll start you in a company. _

Brett and Foster shared a look. Brett nodded knowing what Foster was thinking. 

Foster looks down at Ella, “Okay, Ella, we’re gonna take you both in the same ambulance, okay? We’re gonna call your mom on the way.” 

Ella looks up at her worried,” Okay.”

Foster rushes over to Brett by the gurney.

“We gotta take them to Med, and we can’t leave her alone. It’s our only choice.” Brett says quickly. 

_ Dispatch, we’re gonna transport two patients to Chicago Med.  _ Brett radios. 

They safely get Ella and the driver to Chicago Med. 

* * *

They pull back into their bay. They walk inside, Brett notices Casey sitting at the tower doing work. She and Foster walk over to him.

Casey looks up, “Hey, how was it?”

Brett crosses her arms over her chest, “It was a weird one.”

“Yeah?”

“We had this, um --” Brett starts to explain as Chief Mullins approaches them interrupting.

“61,” he announces

“Yes, Chief. Brett and Foster, sir” Brett introduces 

“Oh, I know your names. You’ve just been reported to me.” He says 

Foster looks at him confused, “Reported?”

“You took two patients at once.” he reminds them

Brett explains, “Chief, it was an extraordinary situation.”

“Which is not to be done. Under any circumstances without expressed consent from Chief Hatcher in a triage event situation,” he commands.

Foster adds, “The second ambo was nowhere to be found, and we had a crucial cardiac patient.”

“You put an injured girl in an ambulance with a man who hit her with his car. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.” He again reminds them. 

Casey sat there listening to the conversation. Trying to be the devil’s advocate. He spoke up defending Foster and Brett, “Sounds like they made a judgment call in a challenging circumstance, Chief.”

“I’m taking you out of service. So you can fill out a detailed incident report.” Mullins demands handing them a stack of incident papers for them to fill out. “If you wanna defend your actions, and if you want me as acting battalion chief to defend your actions, you need to do it with every “I” dotted and every “T” crossed. You can return to service when I’m satisfied with that paperwork, which I want on my desk before I leave.” 

Brett and Foster take the stack of paper and head into the briefing room to fill them out. 

A couple of hours later, Casey walks in checking on them.

“How’s it going?” He asks.

“We already missed two calls because of this busywork,” Brett replies.

Foster adds, “We’re almost done.”

Casey looks down at Brett as she is writing her report out “Is that how you’re gonna turn it in?”

Brett stops writing and looks up at Casey with a glare. 

“A little hard to read. Like, I think you rushed through it. I just think, with a stickler like Chief Mullins, you probably want to put your best foot forward, and…” He stops to rethink what he is about to say as Brett continued to give him a stern glare. “You know what? I’m just gonna…” he nods and walks away to his quarters.

Once Brett and Foster finish their report she takes the stack into Casey’s quarters and set’s it down on his desk.

“You wanna check my penmanship? Be my guest. Fix this so I can get back to doing my job.” she asks as she leans into him sitting in his chair. She places a soft kiss on his lips and walks away. 

After he reads their report he takes it to Chief Mullins for him to finalize it. 

The alarm blares.  _ Truck 81, Ambo 61, possible jumper. _

They arrive on the scene to a guy who is standing on top of the roof, looking like he is about to jump. 

“Herrman, grab a rope bag and come to the roof with me. Kidd, pike poles, then you, Mouch, and Otis get access to the top floor apartments.” Lieutenant Casey orders.

Once Casey and Herrmann get to the roof, the negotiator is talking to the jumper, Dan, from jumping off the roof. He isn’t getting anywhere with him. Dan keeps repeating himself that he is going to do it. Casey and Herrmann walk slowly towards the negotiator until Dan notices them. 

“Who are you?” Dan asks.

“I’m Matt Casey,” he answers

“Get back! Don’t come any closer.” Dan demands

“Alright Dan, Let me go talk to my pal Matt Casey. Okay.”

The negotiator walks slowly backward from Dan to meet with Matt.

“I got a bad feeling. He is being way too calm. He said he’s made up his mind.” the negotiator says disturbed

“Has he been repeating it?” Casey asks

“Twice.”

“Damn.”

“What do you wanna do? A snatch and pull?” he suggests

Casey slightly shakes his head left to right, “He would jump before I even get to him. What’s your comfort level with something risky?”

“This guy’s going. Whatever you wanna try, I’m good with that.”

“You’re talking about me!” Dan exclaims.

“No, Dan, we’re not talking about you. I promise.”

As the negotiator is talking to Dan distracting him, Herrmann and Casey are tossing their ropes and lines down off the ledge, being discrete, so Dan doesn’t notice what they are doing. Once Kidd, Mouch, and Otis see that the rope is in their line of vision they hook the rope to the pike pole. Making the rope inverted arch below the victim.

“I’m going!” Dan exclaims.

He leans forward, but as soon as he does, Casey and Herrmann take the rope and pulling up, for Dan to be pushed back from the ledge, landing on this back. Casey and Herrmann land on top of him from running.

“Call the medics to the roof.” Casey orders.

“We’re all clear of medical support.” the negotiator demands through his radio.

Brett and Foster stabilize the victim and put him on the stair chair. They reach ground floors.

“We got him sedated. His blood pressure is high and his back is bruised, but he’s gonna be fine.” Brett assures the negotiator. 

Brett and Foster take the patient to Med.

Casey meets up with Chief Mullins, who happened to be at the scene watching from below.

“Yeah, I guess you couldn’t see it from down here, but that guy was gonna go. No question about it. He was calm. He was using trigger words, so I made a call. Now, if it’s a liability you’re worried about, put it on me. I’ll take the heat.” he says with an irritated tone.

* * *

Chief arrives at 51 from his seminar meeting that afternoon. He asks everyone to meet in the bullpen for a brief meeting.

Everyone arrives in the bullpen. “I know that I was not here for the morning briefing, but I am back now and I would like for us to get back to work. So with that said let’s get out there and protect our city like we do every shift.” he encourages.

Later on the evening, Casey walks into this quarters as Otis walks in asking “Hey Chief, needs all of your current incident reports.”

He replies confused, “I don’t turn those in until the 31st.”

“I guess Chief Mullins’ office requested them, along with your personal file from what I am being told, by Chief.”

“What?” He questions.

He turns around to grab the binder of incident reports from the shelf that is placed above his desk and hands it to Otis.

Instantly he got a pit in his stomach. He thinks to himself  _ This isn’t good! All I did was my job and I saved a life. This is a fight I am gonna have to prepare for. _

Brett walks in after Otis walks out with the binder filled with papers.

“What was that all about?” she asks

“I don’t know. But whatever it may be, I’m not going down without a fight,” he says sternly.

“You did your job. You made a decision. That’s what makes you a good leader.”

“Thanks, babe. I appreciate it.”

She closes the space between them, as her arms wrap around his waist. His arms wrapped around her shoulders. He places a kiss on top of her head. 

“Come on, let’s go see what Cruz and Otis have cooked up for dinner?” she suggests. 

Casey and Brett walk into the common room where everyone is sitting for dinner. Once they were finished, they got up and walked out heading towards the bunk room. Boden came out looking for Casey.

“Lieutenant Casey.”

“Yeah?” he says as he and Brett turn around to find Chief Boden standing there with his hands on his belt.

“Can I see you and Brett in my office?” He orders.

They look back at each other confused and start walking towards his office. They walk into his office to find, Severide, Boden, and Mullins standing around with their hands on their waist.

“Lieutenant,” Mullins announces

“Chief, “ Casey looks at him with uncertainty.

“Anything you wanna tell me about a jumper call while I was out?” Boden asks

He exhales, looking at Chief Mullins with anger in his eyes. “Chief, it was a complicated situation. But I stand by my decision and my team,” he says determination.

Mullins vocalizes, “Lieutenant, I came to 51 knowing this house has a reputation for doing things its own way. And I know Chief Boden has a sharp eye for leadership, but let me tell you something, Lieutenant. That rope rescue was like nothing I’ve ever seen. No other firefighter I know would have risked it. But if any other truck had responded to that call, that young man would be dead right now. You put the victim first. Even after you knew I was on the scene. And you knew you were already on my hit list. You put his life ahead of your career.” 

There was silence between all of them for a moment. Casey looks confused. Brett is trying to understand what Chief Mullins is implying under the circumstances. Severide is ready to have Casey’s back no matter what happens.

“All of Truck 81 did.” Casey includes

Chief Mullins steps forward in a positive voice, “Spoken like a true leader. Which is why I’ve recommended you for a meritorious promotion.”

He raises his brow, stunned, shocked, surprised at what was just said to him. He thinks to himself  _ A promotion? Are you fucking kidding me? This is a joke, right? _ He looks down to see Mullins's hand reaching out towards him. He responds and shakes his hand. 

“I don’t know what to say,” he says still being stunned.

Boden walks out from behind his desk, adding his words, “You don’t have to say anything. You earned this, Matt. Not just on this call, but every shift and every bell. Look, it’s not gonna be official until the ceremony, but let me be the first to say Congratulations Captain Casey.”

He shakes his hand congratulating him on his promotion. Casey smiles at the idea of him being promoted to Captain.

“Thank you, Chief. I’ll do my best to make you proud.” 

He turns around to face Severide who is already smiling at him. He shakes his hand and hugs him. He turns towards Brett who is smiling ear to ear because of his accomplishment. He hugs her lifting her off her feet.

They walk out of Boden's office, heading to the bunk room. She is still smiling. She is so happy for him. She stops and he turns back towards him, “I am so proud of you!”

He doesn’t believe that he is soon to be Captain now. It seems so surreal. But he is proud of himself as well. If this is the start of everything becoming great in his life, he is lucky to share it with the woman he loves. 


End file.
